


Wingperson

by lyrasprinkles



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Artist Jean Kirstein, Awkward Conversations, Awkward Dates, Bad Matchmaking, Best Friends, Drunken Shenanigans, Eren Yeager Is A Bad Texter, Eren Yeager Is A Dumb Bitch, Eren Yeager is a Little Shit, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Gratuitous Hand-Holding, Holding Hands, Idiots in Love, Interrupted Dates, Jealous Jean Kirstein, Jean Kirstein is a Little Shit, Jean Kirstein is in Denial, Love Confessions, Marco Bott Is A Good Friend, Minor Eren Yeager/Reader, Minor Mikasa Ackerman/Jean Kirstein, Muses, Mutual Pining, Reader-Insert, Roommates, Slow Burn, The Title Is For Marco Because He's The Real MVP, This is terrible sorry, accidental nudity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-17
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:48:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 29
Words: 41,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26508478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lyrasprinkles/pseuds/lyrasprinkles
Summary: “Okay, so let me get this straight,” Connie said. “You and Jean are friends.”“Yes,” you said.“Mikasa is your roommate, and Jean likes her,” he said.“Yes,” you said again.“Eren is Jean’s partner for that assignment, and you like him.”“Yes,” you said.“So you and Jean are going to be the other’s wingman and help set each other up.”“Wingperson,” you corrected. “He’s a guy, he’ll be my wingman. I’m a girl, I’ll be his wingwoman. We’re each other’s wingperson.”“Wingperson,” he repeated. “So you’re Jean’s wingperson, and he’s yours.”“That is correct,” you said.He turned towards Sasha. “Am I the only one who thinks this is not going to work out the way they think it will?”Sasha shrugged. “Eh. I think it’s sweet, in a this-is-definitely-going-to-end-badly kind of way.”
Relationships: Jean Kirstein/Reader
Comments: 121
Kudos: 405





	1. The Assignment Partner

**Author's Note:**

> Okay first of all I am aware of how terrible this is *cries* It's not my best work, but I had to get it out of my system, sooo...
> 
> Jean/Reader stories are my favourite stories to read, but there's not a lot of modern au ones written after 2018, so here I am! This is also a sort-of homage to my favourite ff writer, who's written my favourite fic of all time: [Punk Rock Princess](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7449727/chapters/16927150). Check it out!
> 
> If this reads like a bad, tropey romcom, it's totally done on purpose ~~and not just because I am a shitty writer~~.
> 
> You already know how this is going to end, so stick along for the ride!

Jean walked into the classroom and slammed his backpack on the desk behind you.

“Yikes,” you said, your eyebrows raised. “Who peed in _your_ cereal this morning?”

He gave you the stink eye as he sank his butt into the chair. “Don’t start, [Name]. The last thing I need right now is more of your sass.”

You were about to retort, but you noticed Marco give you a warning look from the seat next to you. “What happened, Jean?” he asked kindly.

Jean sighed, before banging his forehead on the desk. “Isawheragain,” he mumbled quickly.

“What?” you asked. “Speak up, Jean. We can’t hear you over your whinnying.”

He gave you another dirty look. Finally, he rested his chin on his desk and mumbled, “That girl from my Psych class. I saw her again. This morning. Outside the building.”

You and Marco exchanged glances. “And that’s bad because…?” he said.

“Because,” Jean said. “Because I couldn’t fucking talk to her. Again. Because I’m a pussy. Because the semester’s gonna end and I’m not even going to be able to have a single fucking conversation with her.” He groaned loudly in frustration.

You rolled your eyes, while Marco patted Jean’s shoulder sympathetically.

Marco was your best friend at Titan University. He was one of the first people you had met when you’d started last year and you had become fast friends with him and his friend Jean.

“So, why can’t you talk to her again?” Marco asked.

“She’s just so…cold,” Jean replied, using his hands for emphasis. “Like, don’t get me wrong, she’s gorgeous and stunning but she’s so damn intimidating and unapproachable. You get what I’m saying?”

“Well, if she’s so beautiful, why would you want to talk to her?” you asked. “Do you really want your ugly to rub off on her?”

“Hey now,” Jean said, annoyed. “The only ugly on this handsome mug,” he gestured to himself, “are the traces of _you_ on it.” He blew a raspberry at you and slumped onto his desk again.

You sighed. The three of you usually sat towards the left of the classroom. Your eyes drifted to the right, as you had gotten into the habit of doing whenever you had this class.

You didn’t want to admit it to Jean, but you knew exactly what he was going through. You knew because you were in a similar situation.

Eren Yeager sat towards the right, and you had had a crush on him for a while now. While this was the only class you shared with Jean and Marco, Eren was majoring in the same field as you, so you saw him often. Not only was he ridiculously attractive, with beautiful green eyes and the body of a Greek god, he was also quite popular. He played soccer for the university team and seemed to be surrounded by people wherever he went.

You had never spoken to him. Your problem was the opposite of Jean’s – Eren wasn’t cold or unfriendly, he was hot-blooded and intense. He was outspoken about his beliefs and preferred to argue than have rational discussions. You admired his passion, but he was extremely intimidating and you had been too afraid to talk to him so far.

But, unlike Jean, you at least knew a few basic details about Eren. Like his name, for starters.

“Do you even know anything about this girl?” you asked. “Or do you just like her because she’s pretty? What’s her name? Her major?”

He glared at you. “I don’t have to know her name or her major to declare her my _muse_ ,” he said dramatically.

You rolled your eyes again. The problem with being friends with an Art major like Jean was that he was always declaring strange women to be his muse. You wouldn’t have minded so much, if not for the fact that his muses tended to be very random and usually people he knew nothing about.

“I know what she looks like,” he continued, “and that’s enough for me. I’ve got that charcoal exhibition for my Visual Arts unit coming up soon and I already know how I’m going to draw her.”

Your eyes travelled back to Jean. His eyes had a faraway look in them and his cheeks were dusted pink. You smiled. As much as you bickered with him, he was your friend and you did want him to be happy. “Well. Good luck with that. I hope things work out for you two.”

Jean sighed, before mumbling, “I hope so too.”

Your Ethics professor entered the classroom, causing all chatter to cease. Within the first ten minutes, she made a startling announcement.

“As you all know,” she said, “your next assignment is meant to be done with another person. I’ve already assigned you your partners and I’ll read the pairs out now.”

Okay, you had been over the course handbook and already knew about this assignment, so it wasn’t that startling. But that didn’t mean you were looking forward to it: you crossed your fingers and hoped to get Marco or Jean as a partner. You got along well with Marco and he was diligent, which meant you would definitely get a good grade. While Jean and you bickered more than you spoke, you would rather work with him than someone you didn’t know.

Or, your gaze drifted to the right again, you hoped your partner would be Eren. This would be your only chance of talking to him.

You crossed another set of fingers and prayed for Eren as a partner instead.

To your minor annoyance, your professor had other plans. “[Name] [Last Name],” she announced. “And Marco Bodt.”

Well. Okay. Marco wasn’t Eren, but he was still your best friend and your second pick for a partner. You shot finger guns at him as he grinned at you.

And, to your further annoyance, the professor announced, “Jean Kirstein and Eren Yeager.”

Um. That wasn’t supposed to happen. Jean turned towards you and made a face. “Who the fuck is Eren Yeager?” he whispered angrily.

Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Eren gaze around the classroom, wondering who Jean Kirstein was. His eyes rested on you, and you immediately looked away, your face flushed. Did you _look_ like a Jean Kirstein to him?

“It’s not fair,” Jean continued to mutter angrily. “Why do you guys get to work together while I have to work with Whatshisface?”

For once, you agreed with him. Why did he get to work with Eren? He couldn’t even remember his name!

“His name is Eren,” you hissed angrily, jerking your head subtly to the right, “and he’s the guy in the green shirt sitting over _there._ I’m surprised you don’t know who he is, he’s very popular.”

He snorted derisively. “Do I look like the kind of guy who cares about popularity contests?” he whispered.

The professor glared at the two of you and you immediately quietened down.

While you were happy to be working with Marco, you were salty that Jean had gotten Eren as a partner. Jean, your best friend, would now be spending a lot of time with him and would grow closer to Eren while you had yet to say a single word to him.

You sighed. You would just have to be content with admiring him from afar. There was no way you were ever going to talk to him.


	2. The Roommate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just want to clarify that while Reader and Mikasa share the apartment, they have their own rooms. I would normally use the term "flatmates", but I understand that it isn't used in a lot of countries, so we're calling them "roommates" instead.

**Sasha**

You’re kidding

Please tell me you’re kidding

**You**

I wish I was

But yeah

Eren did get assigned to JEAN of all people as a partner

And not me

:(

**Sasha**

Geez [Name]

That sucks!

You have REALLY bad luck

**You**

Tell me about it

Anyway I should prob give up on him

I’m never going to be able to talk to him

Let alone go out with him

**Sasha**

Nooooooo!!!!

Don’t give up just yet!

Hey, Eren and Connie are friends

I could ask Connie to put in a good word for you?

**You**

And what would Connie even say?

Hey Eren, my girlfriend’s ex-roommate has a crush on you but she’s too chicken to talk to you

Please go out with her!

**Sasha**

Yeah that wouldn’t work

I hope you figure something out soon [Name]

Keep me updated

“Who’s that?” Jean asked, peering over your phone.

“Nobody,” you said, putting your phone away. While Jean and Marco knew you were friends with Sasha, they would ask what you were talking to her about, and you didn’t want to tell them.

The three of you were in your apartment that evening. Marco and Jean had come over to hang, as they often did when they were bored and had nothing else going on. You were sitting on the couch in the living room, cans of beer in your hands. You had your laptop before you as you went over a few required readings for your class tomorrow.

“Anyway,” Jean said, taking a sip. “Your roommate move out yet?”

“Move out?” you frowned, looking up from the screen. “Why would she move out?”

“You know,” he smirked. “Because of your curse.”

You rolled your eyes. “Not this again.”

“Wait, what curse?” Marco asked.

Before you could say anything about Jean being full of horseshit, he beat you to it. “[Name]’s cursed,” he whispered, dramatically widening his eyes. “Whoever moves into this apartment with her is cursed to find true love and leave soon after.”

“That is absolutely NOT true,” you stated.

“Let’s review, shall we?” Jean said. He held up a finger. “Roomie number one. Sasha. [Name]’s first roommate when she moved into this apartment. Even though Sasha had been living here for months, soon after [Name] moved in she fell in love with her best friend Connie and moved out to live with him. Isn’t it weird how Sasha and Connie had known each other for ages yet chose to get together after meeting [Name]?”

“It was a coincidence,” you insisted.

“Roomie number two,” Jean continued, raising another finger. “Historia. First semester at university, nice girl, sweet and naïve, never been in a relationship before, yadda yadda. Weeks after moving in here, she meets Ymir and – BAM! They’re living together now.”

“Coincidence,” you grumbled.

“And Roomie number three, whoever she is, is bound to meet the same fate,” Jean finished. He smirked at you again. “Imagine being so cursed that all of your roommates find love, while you stay single for, like, forever.” His eyes widened as he thought of something. “Hey, maybe _I’ll_ move in here next. Then I’ll finally be able to talk to that girl in my Psych class!”

“Don’t be silly, Jean,” Marco said. “There’s no such thing as curses. And [Name]’s been single because she’s waiting for the right guy. Isn’t that right, [Name]?”

“Uh…sure,” you said. You hadn’t told Marco and Jean about your crush on Eren. You could only imagine the teasing from Jean and pity from Marco you would receive.

Jean rolled his eyes. “Right guy my ass. You’re too picky, [Name], and you know it. You rejected the last guy who asked you out only because he wore a t-shirt that said, ‘Yuri didn’t deserve Victor, change my mind’.”

“I don’t need that kind of trash in my life,” you mumbled. You quickly changed the topic. “Anyway, to answer your question, no, my roommate has _not_ moved out. She still lives here and is still very single, thank you very much.”

“Give it time,” Jean shrugged. You resisted the urge to slap him.

“She’s not home, is she?” Marco asked, warily eyeing the door to your roommate’s room. “I mean, I’ve only met her once, but she seemed quite scary. I don’t think she would like us talking about her like this.”

“Nah, she’s not here,” you replied. “She’s usually out and doesn’t spend much time home. Even when she’s here, she likes to keep to herself, so I don’t speak to her much. She’s not the friendliest, but she’s decent. I like her.”

“Anyway,” Jean drained the last of his beer and slammed the can on the coffee table. “We should get going, Marco. It’s getting late and I’ve got to meet Whatshisface tomorrow morning for that stupid Ethics assignment.”

Your face flushed. “Eren,” you hissed angrily. “His name is Eren.”

Jean waved his hand dismissively. “Whatshisface,” he repeated.

You sighed and stood up to walk Marco and Jean to the door. Before you could open it, you saw the doorknob turn as your roommate entered the apartment.

Mikasa blinked at the three of you, evidently surprised to see you had company. “Oh, hello, [Name],” she said.

“Hey, Mikasa,” you said, giving her a smile. “You remember Marco.”

She nodded and shot a polite smile at Marco, who smiled back.

“And this is my other friend, Jean,” you said, gesturing to Jean.

Mikasa nodded again and smiled at Jean. Jean, however, had turned scarlet. His mouth had fallen open.

You frowned at Jean’s rudeness. Would it kill him to at least say hello?

“It’s good to meet you, Jean,” she said. “I’m Mikasa, [Name]’s roommate.”

You glared at him as he continued to stare at her with his mouth open. He turned towards you and you gritted your teeth at him. _Say hello to her, you idiot. What is wrong with you?_

Jean finally swallowed hard as he turned back to her. “I…know you,” he squeaked. “I’ve seen you before.”

She frowned. “Have you?”

“Yeah,” he nodded furiously. His gaze turned back on you as he regarded her out of the corner of his eye. “You, uh, you’re in my Psych class.”

She continued to frown at him, as if trying to remember who he was. Finally, she gave up and shrugged, before walking to her room.

You led Jean and Marco outside the front door before turning to face Jean. “What was that about, you idiot?” you hissed.

Jean was still blushing furiously. “She, uh,” he stammered. “My Psych class…my muse…she…”

You and Marco exchanged glances as it hit you. Fuck. This was the girl Jean had been talking about. The one he had declared to be his new muse. Your roommate, Mikasa, was the girl he liked.

Your insides writhed uncomfortably. This was not going to end well.


	3. The PITA

**Jean**

So

Your roommate

What was her name again?

Mikasa?

**You**

NO.

**Jean**

I didn’t even say anything

**You**

I know you Jean

I know where you’re going with this

And I don’t want to be involved

You may have liked her before you knew she was my roommate

Which is fair. I can’t do anything about that

But you are NOT going to use to me to get closer to her

**Jean**

Aw come on [Name]

I thought we were friends

Can’t you help me out here?

**You**

Friends don’t hook each other up with their roommates

**Jean**

Well, I could hook you up with MY roommate if you like?

You’ve never met Floch, but you’ll like him

He knows how to treat the ladies

**You**

No thanks

Don’t you see how awkward this is for me?

You’re my friend

She’s my roommate

If you two dated it would be really weird

**Jean**

It wouldn’t

Think about it [Name]

You’re her roommate and my friend

You’re the perfect person to get us together

You know how badly I’ve wanted to speak to her

I’m not going to get another chance like this

**You**

All the more reason NOT to help you

I know this would work out great for you

But

At the risk of sounding selfish

This would end badly for ME

You’d be coming over to suck face with my roommate

Instead of hanging out with me

And I do NOT want to come home to you and Mikasa having sex on the couch or whatever

**Jean**

Now there’s a thought

**You**

Jean!!!

**Jean**

Fine

What do you want in return?

For helping me out with her

Name your price

If you want me to hook you up with Floch

The offer still stands

**You**

The only thing I want

If for you to leave me alone

And not bother me about this


	4. The Agreement

You stormed into your apartment and slammed the door shut.

It was late evening and you had just gotten home from work. You worked as a barista at a café in town and had somehow managed to spill chocolate syrup down your front. Even though your apron had absorbed most of it, you now had a brown patch on the front of your work shirt and the skin underneath was sticky and gross. You needed a shower, stat.

You glanced at Mikasa’s room. There was no light under the door, which meant she wasn’t home. Again.

You wondered where she constantly disappeared to. You knew she had a part-time job like you did, but surely she wasn’t spending all of her time there. You had told Jean she was single as she hadn’t had any guests over so far, but you wondered if she could be in a relationship that she hadn’t told you about.

Then again, why would she tell you anything? Aside from a few pleasantries exchanged now and then, you had barely spoken to her. You knew nothing about her social or romantic life.

Which was also why you couldn’t help Jean out with her. That, and the fact that you didn’t want to.

Your phone vibrated loudly in your pocket. You pulled it out to read Sasha’s text.

**Sasha**

We still on for brunch on Saturday?

**You**

For sure!

I can’t wait to see you and Connie again!

**Sasha**

Same!!!

Also can’t wait to hear about the new developments on the Eren front!!

**You**

Lmao hate to disappoint

But there haven’t been any

He’s still doing that assignment with Jean

And I still haven’t spoken to him

**Sasha**

:(

You shoved your phone back into your pocket as you made your way to your room. You quickly took off your clothes and grabbed your towel and speaker. Wading through your playlist until you found a song you liked, you tossed your phone onto the couch and disappeared into the bathroom.

When you were clean again, you wrapped the towel around your body and stepped out of the bathroom, music still blaring from the speaker inside. To your surprise (and annoyance), Jean was sitting on your living room couch, scrolling through his phone.

Ignoring the fact that you were wearing nothing but a towel, you marched towards him and folded your hands across your chest. “Jean!” you hissed. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

He turned to face you. “[Name],” he smirked. “Nice towel.”

Even though your body was hidden behind the towel, you couldn’t help self-consciously covering your breasts with your arms. “Jean,” you asked again, “why are you here?”

“You weren’t picking up your phone!” he replied.

“I was in the shower!” you yelped. “I poured choc syrup over myself at work today so I…wait, no, that’s not the point.” You glanced at Mikasa’s room again. The lights were still off. “How did you even get in? Mikasa couldn’t have opened the door, she isn’t home.”

He sighed. “Yeah, I figured that out when I rang the doorbell like, thrice, and no one answered. I know you keep a spare key under the doormat, [Name]. Getting into your apartment is not exactly rocket science.”

“That’s breaking and entering!” you cried.

He pulled up a six-pack from next to him. “Would you forgive me if I said I brought beer?”

“No!” you said.

“Oh, come on, [Name],” he said, grabbing your arm and dragging you onto the couch next to him. “I was bored and my roomie was being annoying. And I wanted to see you.”

You rolled your eyes. There was no way that last bit was true. “You came here for Mikasa, not me,” you muttered. “Admit it.”

“I did not,” he replied, sounding insulted. “[Name], I’m hurt. I can’t believe you would accuse me of that. You know you’ll always be my number one, my favourite girl.” He caught your eye and grinned sheepishly. “Okay, maybe a tiny bit of me _did_ want to see her. And maybe convince you to help me out?”

You sighed. Getting to your feet, you said, “Well. Can’t say I’m surprised.”

Jean grabbed your arm again before you could walk away and pulled you back onto the couch. “Come on, [Name],” he said. “Be a sport. All I’m asking for is a few details, like what kind of guys she likes and when she’d be home and shit. And if you could talk me up to her, say a few nice things about me, that would be great.”

“Jean, no,” you said irritated. “I can’t help you. I don’t _want_ to help you. Besides, I don’t know what kind of guys she likes or when she’s home. I don’t even know if she likes _guys_. I’ve told you before, she’s very quiet and introverted.”

He was about to rebut when the song on your speaker changed and a cheery pop song began playing. “What is that… _trash_ you’re listening to?” he complained. “Your god-awful taste in music is making my ears bleed.”

You stood up again. “I don’t have time for this, Jean,” you said. “And, for fuck’s sake, I’m still in a freaking towel. Let me go get changed.”

“Wait!” He grabbed your hand yet again. “Can I change the song at least?”

Rolling your eyes, you dug your phone out from under his butt on the couch and unlocked it, before tossing it to him. “Knock yourself out,” you muttered.

You were about to walk away when you heard Jean say, “[Name]. What haven’t you told me about Eren?”

Your blood went cold. You stopped in your tracks and turned around to face him. “Wh…what?” you stammered.

“You have a text from Sasha,” he said, his eyes on your phone. “It says, _‘Does Jean know about Eren?_ ’” He looked up at you. “[Name], what are you and Sasha talking about me and Whatshis – Eren – behind my back?”

You remembered your texts with Sasha before. You froze.

Jean couldn’t find out about your crush on Eren.

“Give me back my phone!” you yelped, making a grab at his hand. He used one arm to push you away, while the other tapped at your phone.

“No!” he yelled. “I have to know what you and Sasha are saying about me!”

“Stop reading my texts!” you cried. You pushed his hand away and threw your arms around his waist, his back to you. You tried to snatch your phone away again.

Your nose dug into his back. He smelled nice. Really nice. Did Jean always smell this nice?

Taking advantage of your momentary weakness, he twisted around in your grasp until he was facing you and pushed you on the couch. He tried to use one hand to keep you at bay while the other desperately tried to check your conversation with Sasha.

With a snarl, you leapt up and pounced on him, knocking him down with his back on the couch. Your hands pressed against his shoulders, trapping him on the armrest.

Now fully annoyed, Jean threw your phone inside the folds of the couch and grabbed at you. Unfortunately, in the tussle, your towel slipped off your body and onto the floor. Instead, Jean’s hands found themselves on your breasts…

…just as Mikasa unlocked the front door and walked into the living room.

You and Jean stared at each other in horror for fifteen seconds while Mikasa gazed at you impassively. Blood rushed to both of your faces.

You finally came to your senses and slapped his arms away. He blinked at you uncertainly, before you both turned towards Mikasa and screamed, “IT’S NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE!”

Mikasa gave a small shrug. “Your relationship is none of my business,” she said quietly, before walking into her room.

Brimming with embarrassment, you quickly leapt off Jean. You did not dare look at him. Picking your towel off the floor, you wrapped it back around you and mumbled, “I’m, um, I’m going to go put some clothes on.”

Jean did not say anything as you stomped into your room. You did not know what to think. Your heart was beating rapidly and your face was burning. You sat on your bed and took off your towel.

You couldn’t believe Jean had just seen you naked. Embarrassment was not enough to describe how you felt right now – embarrassment times _infinity_ might be closer. And you knew that Jean, being Jean, was never going to let you live it down.

Ugh. Short of building a time machine and convincing yourself from fifteen minutes ago to put on some clothes BEFORE interacting with him, there was nothing you could do. You could only hope that he would forget about this, and, if he didn’t, that he at least liked what he saw.

Wait. No. Why would it matter what he thought of your naked body? You didn’t care for his opinion.

Still, he hadn’t said anything as you had walked away. What could that mean? Was he so grossed out that he couldn’t speak, or did seeing you _au naturel_ put him in such a state of shock that he had been rendered speechless for once in his life?

You shook your head, desperately trying to clear those thoughts away. You didn’t care what he thought. He was _Jean_ , for fuck’s sake.

With a sigh, you picked up a pair of shorts and began to wriggle into them.

Unfortunately, it appeared the universe was NOT on your side today. Jean chose that moment to barge into your room and cry, “What the fuck, [Name]? You like Whatshis–”

He stopped when he found your back towards him, shorts halfway up your legs. His eyes immediately travelled to your butt and his face turned scarlet.

“JEAN!!!!!” You screamed as loudly as you could.

“Sorry!” he cried, holding his hands up, your phone in them. Eyes still on your ass, he stammered, “I, uh, I just went through your texts with Sasha, and, uh…”

Instead of putting on your shorts, you picked up your slipper and threw it at him, hitting him squarely on the chest. “AT LEAST HAVE THE DECENCY TO TURN AROUND!”

“Done!” he squeaked, quickly turning around. “Although I don’t know what you’re so embarrassed about, you’re not, you know, bad-looking or anything. Your boobs are, um, really nice and you have a great–”

“JEAN!!!”

“Okay, I’ll stop!” He gave you ten seconds to get back to putting your clothes on, before saying, “So, um, what was his name? Eren? Didn’t know you liked him.”

“I can’t believe you read my texts,” you mumbled, slipping into a t-shirt. “That’s an invasion of privacy.” Although, after everything that had happened so far, reading your texts was the _least_ invasive thing he’d done.

“I just read the ones with Sasha, and only because I wanted to know what you were saying about me behind my back,” he said defensively. “Aside from finding out about Whatshisface and that you secretly shipped me and Marco, there was nothing good on there. And I swear to the Goddesses, I did _not_ read your other texts. I respect your privacy, [Name].”

You rolled your eyes at the irony of his words but said nothing.

“So, when were you going to tell us?” he said, his back still turned to you.

You sighed. You plopped onto your bed and stared at the ceiling. “Wasn’t planning to,” you mumbled.

Jean finally turned around. He saw you lying on the bed and laid down next to you.

“Why not?” he asked.

You sighed again. “It’s pointless,” you said. “He’s…him and I’m…me. He’s good-looking and popular and I’m a nobody. And, to be honest, I can’t imagine having a conversation with him without pissing myself. He’s so loud and intense and he’s always with his friends and I know he’s completely out of my league…” You lifted your hand and flexed your fingers, imitating grabbing for something you could not reach. “I guess I’ve just…gotten used to admiring him from afar.”

“This is perfect,” Jean said.

You turned your head to the side to find him staring at you, a wide grin on your face. “What do you mean?”

“We’ll help each other,” he said. “You help me get a date with Mikasa and I’ll help you hook up with Whatshisface.”

You shook your head. “Jean, no,” you said. “I don’t want to go out with Eren. He…”

Jean reached out to gently grasp your hand. “[Name], admit it,” he said. “You want to get to know him. You want to speak to him. I’ve already read your texts, so I don’t get why you’re lying about this. I know how disappointed you were to not get him as your partner.”

You stared at his hand enclosed around yours. “I just wanted to talk to him,” you whispered. “Dating is…I’m not…”

“And are you ever going to be able to talk to him by yourself?” he said sternly. “Be honest.”

His thumb rubbed the back of your hand softly. You sighed. “No,” you mumbled.

“I’m your friend, and I’m working with him on that assignment,” he said. “This is the closest you’re ever going to get to him. You don’t want to lose this opportunity.”

He had a point. Surely talking to Eren would be easier if Jean was by your side, encouraging you?

“I guess,” you said.

Besides, at least he was offering to do something in return for your help with Mikasa, unlike before where he expected you to help him out of the goodness of your heart.

“Then let’s do this,” he said. “Let’s work together to set each other up.”

What did you have to lose? If it failed, Eren would never speak to you again. Considering that he currently didn’t know who you were, it wouldn’t be such a big deal. But if it worked, you could get a date with him. Maybe even more.

You shot one last look at Jean’s hand around yours before looking into his brown eyes.

“Okay,” you said, squeezing his hand. “Let’s do this.”


	5. The Plan

You popped open a bottle of beer and took a large swig. “If we’re doing this,” you said, “we’re going to do it properly.”

Jean chewed on the slice of pizza he was holding. “What do you mean?” he asked.

“We’re going to plan everything out to a T,” you said, grabbing a slice for yourself. “We’re not going to half-ass anything. I’m going to make a list of instructions for us to follow and you have to do exactly as I say.”

Jean looked like he wanted to say something sarcastic, but he just shrugged. “If it makes you happy.”

“It does,” you said firmly. You grabbed a notebook from your bedside table and, on a new page, wrote down “Step 1”.

“First,” you said, “we have to find out if Eren and Mikasa are single, if they like girls or guys and if we’re the type of people they would want to date.”

“What?” he said, annoyed. “How am I supposed to find out something like that? Do I just walk up to him and ask, ‘Yo, Whatshisface, you like dick or pussy?’”

You shrugged. “Figure something out,” you said. “Take him to a bar or something, I don’t know. Like, he’s pretty well-known in uni. It shouldn’t be hard to obtain this information. And for fuck’s sake, stop calling him Whatshisface. His name is Eren. Eren Yeager.”

“Whatshisface,” he said stubbornly.

“Eren Yeager,” you repeated.

“Soccer Bastard,” he said.

“ _Eren,_ ” you hissed angrily.

He rolled his eyes. “Whatever,” he said.

“Step two,” you announced, writing in your notebook. “We’re going to set up a meeting for each other. You’ll set up one for Eren and me and I’ll set up one for you and Mikasa. We’re going to introduce each other properly to the respective party. I’ll help you pick out your outfit and instruct you what to say to her, and vice versa. During the meetings, we’ll subtly encourage conversation and talk each other up.”

Jean stared at you. “[Name], if I was meeting Mikasa, I’d prefer you not third-wheeling around us. And likewise, I wouldn’t want to hang around you and Whatshis – Eren.”

“Kinda defeats the purpose of helping each other out then, doesn’t it?” you pointed out. “Like, you could always go up to her and talk to her right now if you wanted to. But we both know you’re going to be tongue-tied without my help.”

He paused. “Yeah, I see what you mean,” he said. He grabbed another slice of pizza. “Go on.”

“During this date slash meeting,” you said, “we’ll try our best to get their phone numbers or socials or whatever. But if that fails…that brings us to Step Three.” You scribbled into your notebook again. “I’ll talk to Mikasa and ask her if I can pass on her number to you, and you’ll get Eren’s. Then, we’re going to try our best to talk to them over text and establish a rapport and become friends at least.”

Thankfully, Jean did not have anything snippy to say about that. “Seems easy enough,” he said, through a mouthful of pizza.

“And finally,” you wrote into your notebook. “Step Four. The final step. We’re going to ask them to hang out. Like a date. This is the most important step and one we should be able to accomplish without much help.”

He nodded. “Okay,” he said.

You passed him your notebook. “So…that’s the plan,” you said. “Any questions?”

“Just one,” he said, poring over your notes. He looked up at you. “Would Soccer Bas – Eren – be jealous if he found out I’ve already seen you naked?”

You snatched the notebook from his hands and proceeded to beat him up with it.


	6. The Prediction

Sasha took a long sip of her orange juice as you finished your story, while Connie swallowed the piece of bacon he had been chewing.

“That’s so unfair, [Name],” she said accusingly. “The last time I texted you, you said there were no new developments on the Eren thing. And now you’re all ready to seduce him with Jean’s help. You little minx!”

You choked on your toast. “I’m not going to seduce him, Sasha,” you explained, reaching for your own glass of juice to clear your throat. “I just…want to get to know him better. And Jean’s going to help me out.”

She turned to face Connie, who hadn’t said anything yet. “What do you think?”

Connie looked at you. “I’m a bit lost here,” he said. “Do you mind clearing up a few things for me?”

You nodded. “Shoot.”

“Okay, so let me get this straight,” he said. “You and Jean are friends.”

“Yes,” you said.

“Mikasa is your roommate, and Jean likes her,” he said.

“Yes,” you said again.

“Eren is Jean’s partner for that assignment, and you like him.”

“Yes,” you said.

“So, you and Jean are going to be the other’s wingman and help set each other up.”

“Wingperson,” you corrected. “He’s a guy, he’ll be my wingman. I’m a girl, I’ll be his wingwoman. We’re each other’s wingperson.”

“Wingperson,” he repeated. “So you’re Jean’s wingperson, and he’s yours.”

“That is correct,” you said.

He turned to face Sasha. “Am I the only one who thinks this is _not_ going to work out the way they think it will?”

Sasha shrugged. “Eh. I think it’s sweet, in a this-is-definitely-going-to-end-badly kind of way.”

“Please,” you said. “This is going to work. You’ll see. Years later, you’ll be telling this to Yeager babies as the story of how their parents met.”

She sipped her juice noisily. “That, or we’ll be telling little Kirstein munchkins how Daddy accidentally groped Mommy and tried to set her up with another guy.”

You laughed out loud at that one. “Guys, no,” you said. “I like Eren. Jean and I are just friends. I’ve never thought of him that way. And I’m not going to, he’s a massive pain in the ass.”

You remembered how good he had smelled when he was over at yours. You remembered his hands on your breasts and his eyes on your behind. Your face immediately heated up.

Sasha and Connie saw your expression change and smirked at each other. “Sure, [Name],” Connie said. “You _definitely_ don’t like him.”


	7. The Roommate's Type

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reader is a bit of a foodie - she likes to cook and eat different kinds of food. It doesn't affect the story much though, I swear.

And so, you and Jean put your plan into motion. While Jean was lamenting that he had no idea how to extract information out of the Soccer Bastard ( _Eren,_ you had corrected), you knew exactly how you were going to get Mikasa to open up to you. You also knew what kind of meeting you were going to arrange for her and Jean. You knew the way to her heart.

Food.

You had observed that, in the entire time she had lived with you, Mikasa, despite working at a restaurant, never seemed to cook. All you had seen her eat so far was takeout, food she’d gotten from the restaurant she worked at, microwave dinners or instant noodles. You didn’t know why, but you had a feeling it was because she didn’t know _how_ to. In her first week at the apartment, she had somehow managed to set off the smoke alarm while making a _salad_.

You grinned evilly to yourself as you tapped on her door. Your plan was perfect. You would cook something fancy, something she normally wouldn’t eat or would never dream of attempting. And you would invite her to dinner and get her to talk about herself.

She opened the door to find you standing there, a smile on your face. “Hey, Mikasa,” you said cheerfully. “Hope I didn’t interrupt anything.”

“You didn’t,” she said, shaking her head slightly. “What is it?”

Right. Straight to the point as usual. “Um, well, I was hoping you’d join me for dinner tonight,” you said. “I was just thinking, we’ve lived together for a few weeks now, but we haven’t really talked or gotten to know each other or anything, so I thought – why not over a meal? Only if you’re not doing anything, that is.”

She placed a finger on her chin as she considered your offer.

“I’ll be cooking, of course,” you added quickly. “I’ll be making, um, chicken biryani. I’ve got the ingredients and everything, you just have to show up.”

That did it. You saw her eyes light up. “That sounds nice,” she said. “I’ll see you tonight, then.”

Hours later, you and Mikasa were seated on the couch with plates of rice and chicken in your hands.

“So, um,” you began, as you considered how best to broach the subject. You had been so confident in your ability to bribe her with food that you hadn’t thought about how exactly you would get her talking. “How’s uni and everything going for you?”

“It’s going well,” she said, as she helped herself to yogurt. “This is delicious, [Name]. You’re a good cook.”

“Thanks,” you said. As you had expected, Mikasa was not very talkative. You tried to think of another way to ask about her love life.

“How, um, how are your friends doing?” you asked hesitantly. Everyone had friends, didn’t they? Maybe if she opened up about her friends you could take that as an opportunity to ask about any potential partners?

“They’re okay,” she said. “I’m usually over at my best friend’s, that’s why I don’t spend much time here.”

There it was. An opening.

“Oh, that explains it,” you said, giving a small laugh. “I thought you were never home because you were with your boyfriend or girlfriend. Forgive me, I didn’t want to assume your sexuality.”

“That’s okay,” she shrugged. She helped herself to more biryani. Amazingly, she had already finished her first portion, while you had barely touched yours. “And no, I don’t have a boyfriend.”

You nodded to yourself. Okay, so she was single. And she had specifically stated that she didn’t have a _boyfriend_ , which meant she liked boys. That was two ticks in favour of Jean.

Now, to ask the most important question. Was he her type?

“I see,” you said. “What kind of guys do you like, Mikasa? Maybe I’ll keep an eye out for someone for you.”

You cringed internally as the words left your mouth. You sounded like a grandma looking to matchmake her with the boy next door. You wondered if she would get offended.

But she smiled softly at your pathetic attempts at playing Cupid. “No, that’s okay,” she said.

“Hey, you never know,” you said, trying not to sound too insistent. “I’m a great matchmaker! I might already know the perfect guy for you! So, what are you attracted to?”

You saw her put her plate down to think. “Well, um,” she said slowly. “I’ve never really thought about it before. But I guess…brown hair?”

Brown hair? That was good. Jean had brown hair. Of course, his hair was two-toned, but you knew its natural colour was brown. Perfect.

“Cool,” you said, trying not to smile widely. “What else?”

“Um,” she said hesitantly. “Villainous face?”

Huh? That was a weird one. Mikasa had strange tastes, apparently, but who were you to judge? You tried to picture Jean’s face. You were sure he had a horse face more than an evil one, but you supposed some people _could_ describe it as villainous.

You smirked to yourself again. Excellent. Looks like Jean was more of Mikasa’s type than he realised.

“Great,” you said. “Brown hair, villainous face, got it. Anything else?”

Mikasa squirmed uncomfortably. “I hope you’re not judging me for my taste in men,” she said.

You gave her a smile. “No, Mikasa,” you said. “I would never. Besides, if you knew about the reader-insert fanfiction I read in my spare time, you wouldn’t be saying that.”

She laughed, and you sighed with relief. “Well,” she said. “There is one more thing.”

“What is it?” you asked quickly.

She played with her fingers as she studied the floor. “I, um,” she said. “I like angry boys.”

You frowned. “Angry?” you repeated. “Like Bakugou angry?”

She blinked at you. “I don’t know who that is,” she said. “But, um, yes. Angry.”

Would Jean be considered as an angry boy? He was sarcastic more than he was angry. He wasn’t bad-tempered, but he did fly off the handle quickly and walked around with a permanent scowl on his face. Yup, he was definitely an angry boi.

You resisted the urge to rub your hands together in glee. It turned out that Jean was _exactly_ the kind of guy Mikasa would go for. He was going to love you for this.

 _I am the best friend ever,_ you thought to yourself.


	8. The Assignment Partner's...Type?

While [Name]’s plan of extracting information from Mikasa was going smoothly. Jean was at a loss. He didn’t know how to ask Eren, someone he’d spoken to maybe _twice_ his entire life, about his relationship status. At first, he’d seriously considered taking him to a bar, like she had suggested. But the thought of spending hours with that guy in a social setting, talking about their love lives, made him want to throw up.

So he switched gears and decided to try the only way he knew how.

He and the Soccer Bastard (Eren. He really had to get used to calling him that. Especially if this guy was going to be in [Name]’s life, like she wanted him to be) were at the library, working on their assignment.

Working with him was a lot harder than Jean thought it would be. Eren wasn’t very cooperative and would constantly shoot down his ideas and suggestions in favour of impractical stuff. Not that he could blame him entirely, he had been quite antagonistic towards him as well. He just didn’t like him. Something about Eren rubbed him the wrong way.

But he had to swallow his pride and work with him. If not for a good grade in Ethics, for [Name], at least. She liked him, and that meant Jean had to like him too.

They had been sitting quietly, working on their sections of the assignment (it had taken them hours to arrive at a compromise). Jean stared at Eren, trying to build up the nerve to talk to him. Finally, unable to take it anymore, he cleared his throat. “Ahem. Soc – Eren.”

Eren looked up from his computer. “What?” he said.

“You, um,” he said, resisting the urge the gag at the question he was about to ask, “you seeing anyone these days?”

Eren frowned, as if not sure how to interpret the question. “Well,” he said, “I’m hanging out with my friends after this, so…?”

“Not in that way, you mor–” he stopped himself before he could insult him. No. He had to be civil if he wanted Eren to tell him things.

Clearly Eren wasn’t very bright. He was going to have to be more direct with him.

“I meant, uh,” he said. “Are you like, in a relationship or anything?”

The other boy looked away, making a face like he’d just eaten something bad. “If this is your way of asking me out, then…”

“NO!” Jean stopped Eren before he could finish his sentence. He could NOT let either of their minds go in that direction. “God no. I’m not interested in you. Like, at all.”

Eren looked relieved. “Good,” he said. “And no, I’m single. Why do you ask?”

“Because, um,” Jean tried to think of a plausible reason for asking. He wasn’t a good liar and he knew it. He decided to just go with the truth. “This…person I know…sort of…likes you, so…”

Eren frowned. “Oh,” was all he said.

There was a silence after that. Jean bit his lip and began, “And, um.” He felt immensely awkward for what he was about to ask, but he could see no other way around it.

[Name] was SO lucky to have a friend like him. The things he did for her…

“You, um,” he began again. “Which way do you swing?”

His assignment partner looked confused. “I don’t play baseball much?” he said. “I’m more of a soccer person, I guess.”

Goddammit. Jean wanted to strangle him. He was so fucking dumb. He wondered how [Name] would keep up with Eren if the two of them dated. She wasn’t a genius or anything, but she was pretty smart and he could not see her tolerating this BS for long.

“I meant, uh,” he cleared his throat. “In, like, a relationship, do you normally go for girls or guys or…?”

“Oh,” Eren blinked, before snorting loudly. “Don’t really care. People are people.”

Well. That was good to hear, at least. So [Name] still had a sort-of chance. Although, for the life of him, he could NOT see her getting along with Eren. At all.

Still, he had promised he would find out the three things she had asked him to. He had already learnt that Eren was single and liked women, even if he didn’t have a preference.

He sized him up. [Name] had wanted to know if she was Eren’s type, but he doubted Eren even _had_ a type. He decided to go with a different approach.

“So, uh,” he said. “What do you like to do for fun?”

Eren shrugged. “Sports, mostly,” he said. “I’m really into soccer.”

Jean nodded. “Anything else?”

He shook his head. “No, not really,” he said.

Jean wasn’t sure what to think. Did Eren really have only one interest? [Name] was into a lot of stuff – she liked terrible music, watched bad movies unironically and liked anything to do with food. He couldn’t picture her holding a conversation with Eren about sports for too long.

“What about music?” he asked. “What kind of music do you like? Or movies? Or food?”

Eren shrugged again. “Don’t really care for any of that stuff,” he said.

Yikes. He wondered if he had somehow come across the most boring person on the planet. Who didn’t like music?

The other boy, however, changed the subject. “You’re asking this for your friend, aren’t you?” he said.

He nodded. “Yeah.”

“Do they want to, like, date me or something?” Eren asked, frowning.

“Something like that, yeah,” Jean said. He glanced at Eren sideways. Eren didn’t look very happy. If anything, he looked mad. His eyebrows were furrowed and his lip had curled up into a sneer.

“Disgusting,” he scorned.

Jean’s temper immediately rose at that. “What?” he said. “What the hell, man? Did you just call my friend disgusting?”

“Yeah, I did,” Eren challenged, giving Jean a dirty look. “Your friend is pathetic. A coward. They don’t have the balls to come up to me and ask me this stuff, so they’re getting you to do it.” He “hmphed” loudly. “I hate cowards. I doubt your friend has much of a chance, to be honest.”

Jean gritted his teeth. Fighting the urge to punch Eren in the face, he slammed his hands on the table. “Bitch please,” he said, his voice rising. “You’d be lucky to go out with my friend.”

Eren snorted again. “Cowards are scum,” he said loudly. “Unless your friend grows a pair and talks to me themselves, I wouldn’t think otherwise.”

Before Jean could follow through with his threat and punch the lights out of him, someone shushed them loudly. He turned around to find several people staring angrily in his direction.

He sank into his seat, while Eren went back to his computer. His anger continued to ebb inside.

He knew Eren had a point and it would be better if [Name] spoke to him directly than have Jean do the talking. But Eren didn’t know her, so how could he say something like that? How could he assume she was a pathetic coward without knowing the whole story? She was afraid of speaking to him because she found him intense and intimidating. And he could now see why.

He once again wondered what she saw in this guy. He knew Eren was good-looking and seemed well-liked – at least five people had come up to him to say hello the entire time they’d been in the library – yet that was all he appeared to have going for him. Jean knew [Name]. He knew she wasn’t the type of person to be satisfied with looks alone. She deserved to date someone with a good personality at least.

Aside from the fact that Eren had outright stated that he didn’t like her, he couldn’t help wondering if [Name] would really get along with him. The two of them had nothing in common. He knew she didn’t like sports as much as Eren did, and Eren didn’t seem to care about any of the stuff she did. Not to mention that Eren was intense and short-tempered. She, on the other hand, was comparatively chill and laid-back.

Either way, he’d done his job. He’d found out what he was meant to. If Eren wanted her to talk to him herself, then fine. He’d arrange a meeting for the two of them and let it happen.


	9. The Shopping Trip

“Are you fucking serious?” Jean asked as he followed you to a rack of sweaters. “She said that? She really said that?”

“She did,” you replied, unable to stop the smug smile from creeping up on your face. You picked up a red turtleneck and held it against him. Not bad. Browsing through the racks until you found the same sweater in his size, you handed it to him. “Mikasa described her type, and it sounded exactly like you. Try this one on.”

He vanished and reappeared wearing the sweater you’d picked for him. “What exactly did she say?” he asked.

“Uhhh…” you bit your lip. It was best if you did not go into the specifics of Mikasa’s type. “She said she likes guys like you. Let’s leave it at that.”

You looked him up and down. You had picked the sweater for him because Jean’s aesthetic was usually hipster, but it did not suit him nor did the colour compliment his features. You handed him a blue shirt you’d picked up while he had been changing.

He returned wearing the shirt. You nodded to yourself. The blue looked much better on him and shirts suited him well. Jean wasn’t fit, but he was tall and lean with broad shoulders and therefore looked quite nice when he wore stuff like this.

“This is the one,” you said, pleased. “You’re wearing this tonight to dinner with Mikasa and me.”

He studied himself on his phone camera. “You think so?”

“Yeah,” you nodded. “You look really good in this. You’re good-looking, Jean, and when you dress up like this, you…” You trailed off when you realised you were going off on a tangent. “I mean, uh, you look nice. According to me, at least. Not that it matters what I think, obviously. Mikasa has to think you look nice. And she will. She…” You bit your tongue to stop yourself from rambling further.

Jean glanced at you sideways, a small smirk on his face.

Your face heated up. “What?”

He shook his head. “Nothing,” he said, but the smirk did not go away. “I’ll buy this one, yeah?”

As he paid for his purchases, he turned towards you. “So, Mikasa likes guys like me. That’s good, right?”

“It is,” you said, as he followed you out of the department store to the bottle shop. “As long as you remember to hold your tongue at dinner tonight and be courteous, I’ll say you and Mikasa are a sure thing.”

He made a face at you. “Are you asking me not to be myself? That doesn’t sound like good advice.”

“Well, since your default self is ‘ass’, then, yes, don’t be that,” you said. You walked towards a display of wine bottles. When he continued to pout beside you, you sighed. “Look. You can be yourself. Just…be a nicer version of you, maybe? Like I said, Mikasa doesn’t speak much. If you’re your typical loud and obnoxious self around her, she might not want to open up around you.”

He frowned. “What’s the point of getting to know her if I can’t be myself around her?” he muttered.

You gave him a small shrug and picked up a bottle of white wine, studying the label. “You’re the one who decided to like her, figure it out.” You picked up another bottle. “If it makes you feel better, I’ll be going to bed early tonight, so you and Mikasa will be alone after I leave. And you’ll be able to be yourself then.”

“Wait, what?” he said, as you handed him both bottles of wine. “You’re not going to be there the whole time?”

“I can’t, sorry,” you said, making your way to the cashier. You placed both bottles on the counter. “I’ll take these two, please.” Turning to Jean, you said. “I’ve got a really important presentation for my Management class and I gotta prepare and go to bed early.”

“ID?” The cashier asked.

You dug into your wallet for your driver’s licence. “I hope you’re not mad or anything,” you continued, his silence unnerving you. “I would have stayed longer, but this presentation is important and I’m really nervous about it. And I’m kinda hoping the date thingy goes well enough that you wouldn’t need me around by then?”

There was a silence as the cashier handed you back your licence. You pulled up the payment app on your phone and tapped it against the EFTPOS machine.

After a while, he spoke again. “How am I supposed to talk to her without you around?” he asked.

“You’ll be fine, Jean,” you said, accepting the receipt and picking up your wine bottles. “If things get awkward, just use the conversation starters we practiced yesterday.”

He was quiet again. “I…suppose I could do that,” he said finally.

“Great,” you said cheerfully, trying to lift his spirits. “So, um…” You tried to think of a way to change the subject. “How are you going with Eren? Have you spoken to him about me yet?”

“I have,” he said, not looking at you.

“And…?” you prodded. When Jean did not answer, you began to panic. “What did Eren say, Jean?” you asked. “Is he in a relationship? Does he not like girls? Why aren’t you saying anything?”

He continued to remain silent. After a few seconds, he said, “He’s single. And he likes women. And he wants you to talk to him.”

“Really?” you asked, unable to believe it. “Eren wants me to talk to him?”

Your plan was working out better than expected. Eren was available! And he wanted to speak to you, too! This was amazing news!

Yet…why didn’t Jean seem happy?

“That’s…great!” you said. “Can’t wait to see what you plan for us.”

Jean sighed. “Yeah,” he said. “Can’t wait.”

The atmosphere had suddenly turned awkward and you didn’t know why. Awkward silences were rare with Jean – the two of you usually spoke and argued so much that there wasn’t any room for awkwardness. Even after what had happened last week (when he had unwittingly seen you in your birthday suit), things hadn’t been weird. So why was he so quiet now?

You glanced at him. He was not looking at you and instead was staring straight ahead as he walked beside you to the supermarket. There was no expression on his face.

You swallowed hard. You felt bad about ditching him tonight, but you couldn’t help it, you were really anxious about that presentation. And he could probably tell how worried you were, there had been a sheen of sweat on your forehead all morning and you would bite your lip when you remembered. You hadn’t wanted to organise their meeting tonight, but it was hard finding a night when all three of you were available. You were doing your best, but you couldn’t help feeling guilty about the things you _couldn’t_ do.

Besides, you were going to be there for most of the night, weren’t you? You just had to head in earlier than expected. And wasn’t he complaining before about how he wanted to be alone with her and didn’t want you to be a third wheel? He was getting what he wanted – a free dinner and a chance to get to know Mikasa and spend time with her without you around.

You could not take it anymore. “Jean,” you said. “I –”

He interrupted you before you could say anything. “Wait here.”

You frowned but obeyed and stood outside the supermarket with your shopping bag. You saw him walk into a bakery nearby and reappear with a paper bag in his hands.

“What, did you randomly get hungry and decide to buy a snack?” you asked, as he walked towards you.

Jean handed you the paper bag, not meeting your eyes. “For you,” he mumbled.

“Huh?” you frowned. You peered inside the bag to find a giant chocolate-chip cookie.

“I, uh, I know I can be a bit of an ass sometimes,” he muttered when you looked up at him with a puzzled expression on your face. “But, um, I appreciate everything you’re doing for me and all the effort you’re taking to help me out with Mikasa, even though you’ve got stuff going on. Thanks for putting up with my shit. I, um, I’m…really glad to have you in my life. And I hope you do well on that presentation tomorrow.

You were suddenly overcome with emotion. So Jean had noticed. He had seen how stressed you were and how hard you were working to hook him up with the girl he liked.

He could be surprisingly sweet when he wanted to be. Mikasa was a lucky girl.

“Oh, Jean,” you said, trying not to tear up. You gave him a big smile. “You’re an ass, but you’re _my_ ass. Don’t ever think otherwise. Got it?”


	10. The Dinner Date

“So, um,” you told Mikasa as she chopped lettuce leaves beside you. “I invited a friend over for dinner tonight. I hope that’s okay.”

Mikasa put down her knife to stare at you. She had requested to help you out with dinner, even though you had assured her you were fine by yourself (you didn’t want to be mean – you just weren’t sure you could let her screw up a meal as important as this one). But Mikasa could be quite forceful when she wanted to, and you found yourself giving in and letting her prepare the salad.

“Marco?” she asked. “Or the girl who eats too much?”

“No, it isn’t Marco or Sasha, the girl who, uh, eats too much,” you replied. You stirred the rice you were cooking. “It’s the other guy. Jean. You met him last week.”

She frowned. Then you noticed a small smirk appear on her face. “Oh. Him.”

“Yes, him,” you replied. She was smiling; that meant that she liked the idea of him coming over, right? You were pleased for a moment…

…until you remembered what she had witnessed the last time Jean had been over. Your face flushed in embarrassment.

The doorbell rang. “Why don’t you get that?” you asked. “It’s probably him.”

She nodded and left the kitchen. She reappeared a few seconds later, holding a shallow box.

“Jean brought cheesecake,” she said, putting it down next to you. Jean followed behind her.

“Oh, hey Jean,” you said, smiling warmly at him. “Thanks for the cheesecake. Hope you’ve had a chance to say hello to Mikasa properly.”

He nodded stiffly. You glared at him, until he gulped and said, “My pleasure. Hi, [Name]. Mikasa. Have you been well?”

You were glad to see that he had taken your advice and dressed up for the night. He had ditched the starving artist look in favour of the outfit you’d picked for him this morning and have even combed his hair and put on cologne.

Mikasa nodded at him and went back to chopping lettuce. There was a silence as Jean watched you stir rice while Mikasa made the salad.

Well. This was an…awkward start. Jean was clearly nervous, and Mikasa was making no effort to speak to him. You had to do something.

“I’ve got a bottle of wine over there,” you said, pointing your elbow at the kitchen cabinet. “Jean, why don’t you and Mikasa help yourselves? You two could get to know each other in the living room while I prepare dinner.”

But Mikasa shook her head. “I’m making a salad,” she said matter-of-factly.

“But the salad isn’t important,” you protested. “I could easily finish it off as soon as I get the seafood in. You guys go. Talk.”

She shook her head stubbornly. “I’ll finish it,” she said.

You gave Jean a pointed look, silently asking him to step in and handle it himself. But he shrugged. “If she’s busy, she’s busy,” he mumbled.

You sighed. Fine. They were clearly hopeless without your help. You would have to get things moving while eating.

“So, Mikasa,” you said, as the three of you sat down at the dining table. You had made paella today and it smelled _divine_. That, paired with the Caesar salad Mikasa had made, was quite the meal, if you did say so yourself. You poured wine into a glass for yourself. “Did you know Jean’s an Art major?”

Mikasa looked at Jean, who had shoved a forkful of rice and seafood into his mouth. He quickly swallowed and nodded. “I am an Art major,” he repeated.

“Okay,” she said, getting back to her food. You sighed.

“What’s you major, Mikasa?” you asked. You already knew, but at this point you would take _anything_ to keep the conversation going. “I don’t think Jean knows. Why don’t you tell him about it?”

She looked at him again. “I study Medicine,” she said, before getting back to her meal.

“Cool,” he said. He took a sip of wine. Another silence filled the table.

You wanted to bang your head against the table. This was going terribly. Neither of them were speaking to each other. While you hadn’t expected Mikasa to say much, Jean was apparently too nervous to make conversation. How were they supposed to get to know each other without speaking?

You secretly snuck your phone out of your pocket and typed away with one hand, making sure to look like you were still eating.

**You**

The fuck is wrong with you

Stop being nervous!!

Say something to her!!!

She’s too quiet

You saw Jean pat his pocket and pull out his own phone. Within seconds, your pocket vibrated.

**Jean**

What am I supposed to say?

She doesn’t want to tlk to me

Talk

You would’ve facepalmed, if not for the fact that you had company.

**You**

She just told you she’s studying medicine

A really hard course

And you said nothing!!!

You need to keep the conversation going!

Ask her about her job

Her hometown

Her friends

Anything!!!

Thankfully, he seemed to get the hint after that. “[Name] tells me you work at the Sushi Hero outside the university, Mikasa,” he said, not looking at her.

Ugh. Even his body language was awkward. You wanted to hit him.

“Yes,” she said.

“[Name] and I love Sushi Hero,” he said, looking at you. “Don’t we?”

“We do!” you said, flashing him a big smile and nodding at him gratefully. “We always get the avocado hand roll when we go there!”

“That’s nice,” she said, giving you a small smile.

You nodded again. “Jean loves the spicy salmon there! Don’t you, Jean?”

“Yeah,” he said, grinning at you. “Hey, do you remember the time I drank too much sake and accidentally flipped the plate over and my salmon went flying and hit that guy in the face?”

“Oh, you mean that short guy who was drinking tea weirdly?” You gave a small laugh as you remembered. “He was so mad! He called you a brat and threatened to get you banned from the place!”

“Yeah,” he laughed. “He was a nightmare. Not as bad as the time we had that ramen-eating contest and you tried to slurp yours so fast you splashed the guy behind you!” He began digging feverishly into his rice, imitating you shovelling noodles into your mouth.

“Oh, please,” you snorted, taking a bite of your food. “You’re just salty 'cause I won that contest and you had to buy me gelato afterwards.”

“Am not,” he said. “Besides, you somehow managed to dribble gelato all over yourself after that, you klutz.”

Your face burned as you remembered. “That was your fault!” you yelped. “I was so invested in that story you were telling of how you and Marco investigated that haunted bathroom in middle school that I forgot to eat…”

“I still have a picture of you from that day,” he said fondly, pulling out his phone from his pocket. He turned it towards you, and you saw a photo of yourself from a few months ago. You were wearing a white t-shirt and holding a cup of gelato. You were laughing, ignoring the melted cream dripping from your chin onto your shirt. “Look how adorable you are in this!”

You cringed. “Why haven’t you deleted that yet?” you cried.

“Are you kidding me?” he said. “Why would I delete it? It’s my favourite picture of you. You’re so fucking cute in this, [Name].”

Despite how embarrassing the picture was, it was weirdly aesthetic, with the sunlight hitting your face and your eyes sparkling. Jean was an artist, after all: he always took good pictures, despite how cringey the subjects were.

Before you could beat him up for saying that, there was a sound of a chair pulling back. Mikasa stood up in her seat, holding her empty plate and cutlery. She silently made her way to the kitchen.

You and Jean exchanged glances. In a low voice, he said, “Kinda forgot she was there, to be honest.”

“Jean!” you hissed. “This date won’t go anywhere if you spend the whole time talking to _me!_ Look, I’m going to have to leave soon. You better make up for this then.”

With that, you stood up and took your own empty plate to the kitchen.

“Sorry about that,” you said to Mikasa, who was drinking a glass of water. “We didn’t mean to exclude you from our conversation. I hope you still want to join us for dessert!”

She shrugged. “That’s okay,” she said. “I’m the same way sometimes.” You raised your eyebrows at that but did not say anything. “And yes, I would love some dessert.”

“Great!” You retrieved the cheesecake from the fridge. Placing three neat slices onto small plates, you followed her back to the living room.

“So, Mikasa, do you like coffee?” you asked, smiling at her as you dug into your dessert.

She shook her head. “No,” she said. “I prefer tea.”

“That’s great!” you added quickly. “Because Jean loves tea!”

“I do?” he said, confused. He caught your glare and nodded. “I do! Tea. Yum. Love the stuff. Leaves and all.”

You shot him an exasperated look, before saying, “You two should get tea together sometime!”

Mikasa shrugged. You sighed again.

Well, you had done your best. You had planted the seed, and now all you had to do was wait for it to grow. You stood up. “It’s been fun, but I have to go. Got a class early morning and have a presentation to prepare for. Thanks for joining us, Mikasa.”

“You’re leaving?” she said with a frown. “I should go to bed, too.”

“NO!” you cried loudly. Leaving them alone had been a last-ditch effort, a Hail Mary to smooth things over, and you were NOT going to allow Mikasa to let your efforts go to waste. “You stay here. Have a chat with Jean. Get to know him. I’m sure he’d like that. Won’t you, Jean?”

Jean did not answer. You shot him a look, causing him to sigh and say, “I would very much enjoy your company, Mikasa.”

She looked doubtful, but shrugged. “Okay.”

“Great!” you said, your voice a little too high and cheerful for your own taste. You cleared the dishes from the table and proceeded to the kitchen. “You kids have fun. Good night.”

You quickly did the dishes and slipped into your own room. Immediately, you pasted your ear to the door.

Silence.

You waited for four whole minutes but heard nothing else. With an irritated sigh, you pulled out your phone to text Jean again.

But before you could type, you heard a low voice come from the living room. Jean.

You couldn’t hear what he was saying, but you were pleased to hear _something_ at least. You heard Mikasa respond back. You smiled gleefully to yourself, but then you heard footsteps.

After a few seconds, you heard the front door open and shut, and you realised Jean had left. Then you heard another door shut and you realised Mikasa had gone into her room.

Frustrated, you pulled out your phone to text Jean.

**You**

What the hell? Why did you leave?

You guys were supposed to talk and get to know each other!

Please tell me you got her phone number at least!

You waited for him to text back, but he did not reply. He was probably driving and would take a while to respond. You shook your head and got to work on your presentation.

Did you have to do everything around here? You had cooked dinner for them, picked out his outfit and coached him on talking to her. You had tried to get them to make conversation and had tried to get them alone. Short of pushing their lips together like they were dolls being forced to kiss, there was nothing else you could do. Not only was Jean barely trying, Mikasa was also proving to be extremely difficult to court. You didn’t know why – she had opened up during dinner with you and had been candid about herself and her taste in men. Why was she so different around him?

You began to regret agreeing to set them up. You hoped that Jean’s meeting for you and Eren would go better than this. You vowed to make an effort during that date, do all the things Jean didn’t do today.


	11. The Roommate's Thoughts

And so, you found yourself bribing Mikasa with food in exchange for information. Again.

Their date a few days ago may have been disastrous, but you could not let that stop you. You had to stick to the plan. And the next step of the plan would be getting Jean her phone number.

You hoped Mikasa wasn’t mad over how badly that dinner had gone or how abruptly you and Jean had left after that. However, as you watched her dig into the beef and broccoli you had cooked, you knew you were forgiven.

“So, uh,” you said, trying to sound casual. “Dinner with Jean the other day was…interesting.”

It was anything but. Mikasa, however, shrugged and said, “The food was nice.”

“Yeah,” you said. “What about Jean? What did you think of him?”

She shot you a look, as if to ask why you were asking her that.

“I mean, it was your first time hanging out with him!” you said, trying to brush off her suspicions with a laugh. “Surely you have some…opinions on him. I know most people usually do.”

She shrugged again. “He seems nice,” she said.

You nodded eagerly. “He is nice,” you agreed. “He’s kind and sweet and funny. Of course, you can’t tell him I’m saying this, I don’t want his ego inflating further.”

Mikasa giggled. “I won’t.” Smiling at you softly, she said, “You’re really lucky to have him.”

You smiled smugly to yourself. Was that a hint of jealousy you were sensing? Had she somehow already developed a smidgen of feelings for him?

“I am, aren’t I?” you smirked. “He’s usually a pain in the ass, but life is better with him in it.”

She nodded. “You two are cute together,” she said, the sad smile still on her face. “I wish you both happiness.”

You kept smirking until you realised what she had just said. “Wait,” you said. “You think Jean and I are dating?”

She glanced at you sideways. “Are you not?”

You blinked at her, speechless. So all this while…the entire dinner…she had thought he was your _boyfriend_.

“Mikasa,” you said slowly. “Jean and I are not together. We’re just friends.”

She stared at you. “Oh,” she said.

There was a silence. You were still in shock to learn that Mikasa had thought he was your boyfriend. Was this because she had seen you naked on top of him last week? You could see why she would’ve misinterpreted that, anyone in her position would have thought the same thing. But hadn’t she noticed you trying to push him on her the entire time during dinner?

You sighed. Jean was going to hate you for what you were about to say, but you could see no way around it.

“We’re not together,” you repeated. “Mikasa, Jean likes _you_. He wants to date you.”

She frowned. “He does?” she asked.

“He does,” you nodded. A sudden pang of sadness hit you, and you didn’t know why. “He has a big crush on you and he’s trying to get to know you so he can ask you out. I’m just…helping him out.”

“I see,” she said. The expression on her face was neutral; you could not tell what she was thinking.

“So, uh,” you said, when the silence had gone on for too long. “Is it okay if I give him your phone number?” You swallowed hard. “He, uh, he’d like to talk to you over text and stuff.”

“I guess,” she said, though she did not sound convinced.

“Thanks, Mikasa,” you smiled at her. Another pang hit you, and you ignored it. “You’ll like him. He’s a good guy. If you give him a chance, he’ll make you happy. And let me know if he ever upsets you, I will personally kick his ass for you.”

She nodded. You smiled to yourself again. Jean was going to be so excited about this. Of course, you weren’t going to tell him that you had to tell Mikasa the truth to get her permission to pass on her number. Hopefully, he would do a better job talking to her over text than he did in person and would be able to confess to her.

You continued to ignore the burning feeling in your chest. Jean had better build a statue in your honour for all you were doing for him. No offence to Marco, who was nice and all, but you were pretty sure you were the best friend he would ever have.

After all, you wanted him to be happy. He was a good guy, albeit annoying. He deserved happiness with the person he liked.

That’s what you told yourself, ignoring the sadness in your heart. He deserved to be happy with Mikasa.


	12. The Other Roommate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to apologise if Floch is OOC in this (then again, who isn't?) In my defence, I only watch the anime (that's pre-s4 for you time-travellers) so I know literally nothing about him other than the fact that he is ridiculously attractive for no apparent reason.

Jean walked into his kitchen to find a strange woman sitting on the countertop. She was drinking coffee and was dressed in nothing but an oversized shirt.

He stood there for a few seconds, blinking at her. She finally looked up and acknowledged him.

“Oh, hello,” she said, giving him a wide smile. “You must be Floch’s roommate. I’m Mina!”

He nodded. Of course. Trust Floch to let last night’s guest walk around their apartment in minimal clothing. He had seen this happen too many times to expect differently.

“Jean,” he said, pulling open the fridge door. The milk was expired and they were out of eggs. There was some bacon left and he could see a box of cereal in the cabinet above. He could fry the bacon, but he wasn’t sure if he wanted to stick around and talk to some random girl he wouldn’t see again.

Luckily, Floch emerged from his room, dressed in a pair of pyjama bottoms, red hair tousled. “Hey, Mona,” he said, giving the girl a sleepy kiss on the cheek.

She frowned. “Mina,” she said. “My name is Mina. You told me how pretty it was at the bar last night.”

“And it is indeed a beautiful name,” he said, grinning at her. He poured himself a cup of coffee. “Just like you.”

She giggled, and Jean resisted the urge to gag. He poured the cereal into a bowl, before he realised there was no milk.

“So,” Mina said, trailing a finger down Floch’s chest. “I have class soon, but can I see you tonight? I was thinking we could,” she leant forward to nibble on his ear, “ _continue_ what we were doing last night.”

Jean wondered if it was a good idea to stay in the kitchen, watching them. He had a weak stomach and cringe like this nauseated him.

“Course, babe,” Floch said. “Call you later?”

“Sure,” she said, jumping off the counter. She quickly rinsed her cup of coffee and left the kitchen, returning in the clothes she was wearing last night.

“Do you have my number?” she asked Floch. “I don’t remember giving it to you.”

“Yeah, I do,” he assured her. “You gave it to me before you fell asleep last night, remember?”

Jean, who had taken a seat on an armchair in the living room, crunched loudly on his milk-less cereal. He already knew where this was going.

Mina looked confused. “Huh. I don’t remember doing that, but I believe you. I’m already looking forward to tonight. Promise you’ll call?”

“Promise,” he said. “In fact, I’ll call you as soon as you’re out of that door. I’m not letting you go that easily. You’re really special, Mona.”

“Mina,” she corrected.

“Mina,” he repeated. He slapped her ass and pushed her towards the door. “Now go. Don’t want to be late for class, right?”

“Yeah,” she said. Giving him one last kiss, she said, “Nice meeting you, Jean. And see _you_ tonight, Mister.” With a giggle, she walked out of the door.

Floch sighed with relief when she left. “Yikes,” he said, rolling his eyes at Jean. “Stage four clinger, that one.”

Jean continued eating his cereal. Even though he knew the answer, he asked, “She didn’t really give you her number, did she?”

“Course she didn’t,” Floch gave him a look, as if to say _did you really have to ask?_ “Easier to get rid of her that way.” He glanced at Jean’s bowl. “Why are you eating cereal without milk?”

Jean was about to answer when the doorbell rang. He raised an eyebrow at Floch. “You just _had_ to tell her you’d call as soon as she left, didn’t you?”

“Fuck,” Floch whispered. “I knew she was a clinger, but I…” He jumped behind the couch and crept down so he could not be seen from the front door. “Say I’m not here.”

Rolling his eyes, Jean walked to the door and opened it to find [Name] there instead of Mina.

“What took you so long?” she grumbled, walking into his apartment. “I’ve been waiting outside for ages.”

“Good morning to you too, sunshine,” he said, closing the door behind her. “What are you doing here? You never visit me.”

“Well, this is a special occasion,” she said, setting her handbag down on the kitchen counter. “Wait, are you having cereal without milk?”

He made a face. “The milk’s gone out of date because MY IDIOT ROOMMATE,” he turned towards the couch to make sure Floch could hear him, “forgot to buy some when he went shopping this week. Anyway, what’s the occasion?”

[Name] smirked at him. “Guess who got her roommate’s number for you last night?”

His mouth fell open. “No way.”

“Yes, way,” she grinned. “Now you can talk to her over text and hopefully make a better impression. And Jean, I swear to the Goddesses, if you screw this up, I will _not_ be able to help you anymore.”

He should have been happy; he should have been over the moon, jumping for joy, knocking over random objects in the apartment in his excitement. However, he couldn’t help feeling anxious, and not in a good way.

“Why would she want me to have her number?” he asked. “That meeting was a disaster. We barely spoke. I don’t think she even _likes_ me.”

[Name] laughed nervously. “Oh, haha, maybe she does? You never know what’s going on in her head, she’s so mysterious and all. Anyway,” she clapped her hands together, “I’ve gotten you and Mikasa to meet, and I’ve given you her number. That’s three steps ticked off for you. How’s your progress with Eren?”

He bit his lip. Fuck. He had forgotten he was supposed to introduce [Name] to that Soccer Bastard.

“Excellent,” he said, trying to sound confident. “Most excellent. You’ll meet him soon.”

She sighed. “You’re lying, aren’t you?”

What was he thinking, trying to fool her? [Name] knew him better than anyone and had always been able to see through him.

But how was he supposed to tell her that he didn’t want them to meet? That he hadn’t been able to bring her up to his project partner again because Eren was a dickhead and she was better off without him? That he thought they would make a terrible couple?

He stopped himself in time. He couldn’t think like this. It didn’t matter what he thought. [Name] liked Eren. She had been single for a while and deserved to be happy with the guy she liked.

His opinion on said guy was irrelevant, because [Name] had chosen Eren and needed his help to get closer to him. She was doing so much for him and he had promised to return the favour, as much as he didn’t want to.

“I haven’t spoken to him about it yet,” he muttered, looking at the floor. Her face fell and a twinge of guilt pierced him. “But I will,” he quickly added. “I’ll call him today. And I’ll text you after.”

She nodded at him, a hopeful smile on her face. “Promise?”

“Promise,” he whispered, holding his pinkie finger out at her. With a chuckle, she hooked fingers with him.

“I better go now,” she said, pulling her phone out of her pocket. “I’ve just texted you Mikasa’s number. And, uh, I’ll be looking forward to…” Her gaze trailed towards the couch. He saw her eyes widen before she shot him a fearful glance.

“Jean,” she whispered. “Don’t look, but there’s a strange shirtless guy hiding behind the couch, spying on us. I’m going to hit him with –”

“[Name], no!” he cried, just as Floch jumped up from behind the couch in fear. Jean covered her mouth, stifling her scream. He held her hands back as she picked up a nearby frying pan to throw at his roommate, gently plucking it out of her hands and setting it down. “That’s just Floch. My roommate.”

She stared at the red-headed boy for a few seconds, while he grinned sheepishly back at her. “Why…” she whispered, “was your roommate hiding behind the couch, listening to our conversation?”

“He wasn’t–” Jean began, before realising the explanation was not worth it. “It’s a long story. Anyway, Floch, be a non-creep and say hi to [Name].”

“Hi, [Name],” Floch said in a small voice.

[Name] continued to eye him suspiciously. “Uh-huh,” she said warily. Shaking her head, she picked up her bag and proceeded to the front door. “I’m leaving. See you later, Jean. And, uh, Floch.”

He shut the door behind her, rolling his eyes at his roommate as he went back to his cereal.

“So,” Floch said, walking towards Jean. “Was that the same [Name] you’re always talking about? Your best friend?”

“The one and only,” he said. He clicked on the contact [Name] had sent him.

Mikasa’s number. He finally had Mikasa’s number. Weeks ago, the thought of talking to her was enough cause him to hyperventilate, and now here he was with her number in his phone.

“Cool,” Floch said lightly. Then, after a few seconds, he added, “She’s cute.”

Jean’s hackles immediately began to rise. “No,” he said flatly.

“But I didn’t even –” Floch whined.

“NO,” he repeated, louder than last time. He grabbed his bowl and walked to his room, slamming the door hard behind him. Floch was starting to get on his nerves.

Between getting Mikasa’s number, arranging a meeting for Eren and [Name] and Floch’s dumb ass, he had a lot on his plate. He sighed. Pulling up Eren’s number on his phone, he hit “Call” and pressed it to his ear.


	13. The Other Best Friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Filler

“Wait,” Marco said, raising an eyebrow at you. “You mean Jean asking us to work with him and Eren on the assignment today is all part of an elaborate scheme to hook you up with him?”

You looked away from your mirror to face him, lip gloss in your hand. “I don’t know if I would call it ‘elaborate,’” you mused. “It’s a simple plan. He helps me and I help him. Considering that I’ve gotten him to meet Mikasa and cooked dinner for them _and_ given him her number, letting us study with Eren is the least he could do.”

Marco watched as you finished doing your makeup and got to work on your hair. “I mean, you gotta give him props for agreeing to let you study with him and Eren,” he said. “That couldn’t have been easy for him, knowing how much he dislikes the guy.”

You put down your comb. “Jean dislikes Eren?” you asked. “Why?”

A small smirk appeared on his face. “I think I know why, but it’s a theory I’d rather keep to myself for now,” he said. “But yeah, besides that, he has told me he finds Eren annoying. And hard to work with. And a bunch of other things I probably shouldn’t repeat.”

You snorted. “Please. He’s doing the bare minimum. I managed to befriend Mikasa and he can’t even tolerate Eren. Think about it: I’ve already finished Step Three of the plan. He’s barely finished Step One, and his idea of introducing me to Eren is to get us to study together, when I went all out for him.” You sniffed. “Forgive me if I’m a _little_ annoyed about it.”

“I get where he’s coming from, though?” Marco said. “Like, Eren doesn’t know who you are and is supposedly difficult to get along with. Studying together feels like a neutral way to talk to him without trying to force it, if you get what I’m saying.”

You made a face. “Whatever,” you said. “I don’t have high hopes for this, since it’s planned by Jean and all.”

He smirked again. “Is that why you’re pulling all the stops with the hair and makeup?”

“Shut up,” you said, playfully hitting him with your hairbrush. “It’s my first time meeting Eren and I want to look nice, okay?”

“Fair enough,” he said. “Though, wasn’t Jean supposed to help you with your outfit and all? Wasn’t that part of the agreement?”

“Eh,” you said. “I mean, it was, but do I really need fashion advice from him? Jean’s idea of trendy is probably a saddle.”

Marco laughed loudly. “You’re not wrong,” he said. He checked the time on his phone. “Well, you better hurry up or we’re going to be late to the library to meet them.”

“Right,” you said. “Do you mind waiting outside while I get dressed?”

He nodded and left the room. You couldn’t help shaking your head fondly. It was good to see that he had the decency to not pry while you were changing, unlike _some_ people. Of course, you knew Marco wasn’t attracted to women, but that wasn’t a reason for Jean to be a pervert.

You wondered what Eren would wear today. You hoped it was his black skinny jeans, he looked _extremely_ hot in those. You thought of what Jean had told you about him last night. He had said that Eren liked sports, especially soccer, though he apparently didn’t play baseball much. He didn’t like music or movies.

You frowned. Talking to Eren was going to be harder than you thought it would be. You had familiarised yourself with soccer and the university team, though you could not see yourself speaking about it the entire time.

“[Name]?” You heard Marco call. “You done?”

“Coming!” you said. You glanced at yourself one last time in the mirror. Satisfied with your appearance, you grabbed your things and left the room.

You were going to wow Eren at your study date today.


	14. The Study Date

“Sorry we’re late!” you panted as you rushed towards the booth where Jean and Eren were sitting. “I hope we didn’t keep you guys waiting.”

You saw both boys look up at you. Jean looked taken aback; his jaw dropped as he stared at you, while Eren looked confused.

“Who are you?” Eren asked.

You tried not to let your disappointment show. The first words Eren had ever spoken to you, and they were not “You look beautiful”, but “Who are you?” Not exactly the first impression you were going for.

“Marco and [Name],” Marco appeared from behind you and held his hand out for Eren to shake. He glanced at Jean. “We’re in your Ethics class. Surely Jean mentioned we would be joining you today?”

Jean, for some reason, had turned fully scarlet. He did not answer and instead appeared to be very interested in the corner of the table.

“Oh, you’re the ones who…” Eren said, realisation dawning on his face. He squinted at you and Marco. “Which one of you is it?”

“Um. What?” you asked, blinking. You were disappointed to see that Eren wasn’t wearing his skinny jeans. He still looked good in those shorts, though.

“Never mind,” he said, shaking his head. “I’ll find out soon enough.”

“Oh…kay,” you said, exchanging glances with Marco, who shrugged. Giving you a sly wink, he slipped into the seat next to Jean, leaving you to take the only other available space near Eren.

You couldn’t help flushing as you sat down. You had never been this close to Eren Yeager before. Your heart was beating rapidly and you were trying your best not to look as nervous as you felt. You could smell Eren’s body spray. He smelled good, though not as good as Jean usually did.

Speaking of Jean, he had finally looked up from the table and was now staring intensely at you.

Your cheeks burned under his gaze. “What?” you asked.

He looked away. “Nothing,” he said. His thumb picked at the edge of the table and he began scratching it nervously. “You, um, you look…”

You immediately began feeling self-conscious. You had checked yourself multiple times before coming here and thought you looked good. What was with that reaction?

“I look what?” you asked, afraid of what he was going to say. “What are you trying to say, Jean?”

The usual look of arrogance returned to his face and he scowled at you. “I meant, when you actually try, you look…not ugly. That’s all.”

You rolled your eyes. Of course. “Hey, it could be worse. I could be looking like _you_.”

He shrugged. “Take the compliment, [Name],” he said. “Just saying that you look good with _and_ without your clothes on.”

“Wait, what?” Marco looked up. “Have you guys already…”

“No!” you yelped, not liking where Marco’s mind was going. “And what do you mean by ‘already’?”

“We didn’t,” Jean agreed with a nod. He smirked at you, “That would only be second base though, wouldn’t it?”

Your face flamed. You wanted to kill him. You would kill him. You couldn’t believe he was saying all these things in front of everyone. You hadn’t told Marco about Jean seeing you naked, since you didn’t think there was a need to bring it up again. Clearly Jean found it amusing and was going to milk it for all it was worth.

And what if someone else had heard him say that? What would Eren think if he did? He –

Fuck. You had forgotten that you were currently sitting next to Eren and he had obviously heard everything.

You turned towards him. He wasn’t paying attention to you or Jean and was frowning at his laptop. If he had heard what Jean had said, he wasn’t acknowledging it.

You debated whether you should bring it up. Finally, you cleared your throat and said, “Um. Eren.”

He looked up from his laptop and stared at you, as if to say, “What?”

His green eyes bored into you. There was something very intense about him, a vibe that made you want to swallow hard and back away slowly. You didn’t know what it was – he just seemed like the kind of guy who would knock down everyone in his path to get what he wanted, which made you anxious.

“Um,” you said. You suddenly got hot under your collar. “I, um…no, never mind.”

You cringed at yourself. Why couldn’t you speak to him?

“Great,” he replied. He looked at Jean. “Can we get some work done now, or are you and your friends going to keep chatting all evening?”

Wow. Rude. Even Jean shot you a sympathetic glance at that. Fine. If Eren wanted to study, you would study. You would impress him with your diligence and hard work. You pulled open your laptop and got to work.

However, after twenty minutes, you got bored. You knew you had work to do, but you and Marco had been getting on pretty well with the assignment and you felt it couldn’t hurt to slack off a little. Besides, you had come here to get to know Eren and you did not intend to leave without trying.

You spent five minutes trying to control your breathing and muster the courage to speak to him. Eventually, you found yourself saying, “So. Eren.”

He glanced at you again, looking bored. Great. If he was bored, he probably wouldn’t be as resistant to conversation as before.

“How’s, um,” you began. You tried to remember the soccer topics you had practiced earlier, but your mind was blank. “How’s soccer?”

You bit your lip as soon as the words left your mouth. Fuck. Fuck fuck fuckity fuck. Why was it so hard for you to have a single freaking conversation with this guy? Why couldn’t you at least say, “How’s soccer going?” instead of “How’s soccer?” You wanted to die.

You could see Marco gazing at you sympathetically from across the table, while Jean suppressed the urge to laugh. You wanted to kill him. This was all his fault. He was supposed to be hyping you up in front of Eren, not trying to make you look worse.

“‘How’s soccer?’” Eren repeated flatly.

You died inside as you heard him say that. “I meant, uh,” you said, “how’s soccer going? Because, you know, you…the team…you play on it…”

As soon as this stupid study date was over, you were going to climb up the highest building in the university and throw yourself off it.

“Oh,” he said. He looked at his notebook. “Fine.”

Well. He either was not much of a talker or just didn’t want to talk to _you_. You hoped it was the former. What was the point of practicing all those soccer-related topics if he wasn’t going to speak about them? And hadn’t Jean said that he _wanted_ you to speak to him?

“How are you going with your section of the assignment?” you asked, desperate to keep the conversation going.

“Good,” he said.

Eren was proving to be just as hard as Mikasa to talk to. You wondered what it would be like if they met and had to speak to each other. You imagined it would involve a lot of awkward silences.

“You guys have a game tomorrow, don’t you?” you asked. You had imagined your conversation with Eren going very differently, and you had thought you would end it by asking to watch him play, to which you had pictured him readily agreeing. Clearly the Eren in your fantasies was _very_ different from the Eren next to you.

“Yeah,” he said. “Big game against Trost.”

You nodded. You already knew that; you had done your research, after all. “I’d love to come watch you play,” you said, giving what you hoped was a flirtatious smile.

He looked puzzled. “Okay?” he said. “Then come? No one’s stopped you.”

RUDE. You would have smacked his ass if not for the fact that you had a big crush on him.

You watched him pull out his phone and text someone. He clearly had no idea what an ass he was being. You glanced at Jean helplessly.

Fortunately, Jean, for once, had your back. “Yeager,” he said, and you could tell he was trying not to roll his eyes. “I think what [Name] means is that she wants to come to your game to. Watch. _You_. Specifically.” He spoke slowly, like he was speaking to a small child. “For VERY obvious reasons.”

Eren continued to look puzzled. He glanced at you sideways, before turning to Jean. “Why would she do that?” he asked. “Soccer’s a team sport. She should watch everyone play, not just me.”

Ughhh. You were frustrated. You didn’t want to die anymore, you wanted to kill Eren instead. How could someone be so oblivious?

“Anyway,” Eren said, losing interest in his conversation with you. “Kirstein, have you finished the part about…”

You continued to sulk as Eren spoke to Jean about the assignment. Marco must have noticed the look on your face, because he prodded you with his foot under the table and said, “Hey. We can leave if you want to.”

You sighed. You couldn’t imagine trying to flirt with him and watching it fall flat any longer. “Yeah,” you whispered. “Let’s go.”

You and Marco said your goodbyes to Eren and Jean, Marco making an excuse about how he had to get home before it got late. However, as you left the library, you heard someone call your name.

You turned around to find Jean running to catch up with you. “Hey,” he said, panting as he placed his hands on his knees. “I, um, sorry about that. I know you’re disappointed. I wanted to warn you, but…”

You frowned. “You knew he was going to be like this?”

“Kinda, yeah,” he said. “He’s not very bright, as you can tell.”

“No kidding,” you mumbled.

“I didn’t say anything because you liked him and it wasn’t my place to say,” he explained. He gave you a look. “Do you still like him, though?”

You looked at the ground. Did you still like Eren? Crushes didn’t just disappear overnight. And…maybe he wasn’t always like this? Maybe he was just having a bad day?

But it wasn’t just that. You found it very hard to talk to him, and not just because of how intimidating he was. Building a relationship…or even a friendship…wasn’t supposed to be that frustrating, was it? It was supposed to come naturally. Like it did with you and Marco. Or you and Jean. Or you and Sasha and Connie. Or even you and Mikasa, for that matter.

“I…I don’t think it would be fair to judge him on this,” you whispered. “And what if it’s not him? What if it’s me? What if he doesn’t like me for whatever reason and doesn’t want to speak to me?”

Jean rolled his eyes. “[Name], I can assure you, it most definitely is _not_ you,” he said. “You were clearly flirting with him, and any guy who doesn’t want to jump on that is not worth your time.”

You shook your head, even though his words had made you smile. “Please ask him,” you whispered. “Please ask him what he thinks of me. I have to know why…if it was my fault or…”

There was a silence as he studied your face. “So you’re saying,” he began, “you want to keep trying.”

You nodded. “Yeah. The plan’s still on. If you could pass on his number or socials, I’ll ask him on a date,” you said, though you sounded unconvinced. “Maybe we’ll double date or something.”

He made a face. “No thanks,” he said. “But, okay. For you. I’ll ask him what he thought of you and get his contact or whatever.”

“Thanks, Jean,” you smiled at him. “I appreciate it.”

You turned around and walked back to Marco, unaware of Jean’s gaze still on you.


	15. The Assignment Partner's Thoughts

Jean took a seat across from Eren, a million thoughts running through his mind.

If he was being honest, he was a little disappointed with [Name]’s decision to keep pursuing Eren. What was worse was that she seemed to be blaming herself for his obliviousness, thinking it was something _she_ had done to piss him off. He had tried explaining to her that wasn’t the case, but [Name] was not known for being compliant.

Why was he upset? He didn’t know. He knew she and Eren would make a terrible couple – hell, Eren and _anyone_ would make a terrible couple, unless he someone managed to get his head out of his ass. But he knew Eren was all wrong for [Name]. And yet _he_ was supposed to be the one getting them together.

He thought of how sad she had looked when Eren wouldn’t speak to her. Anger built up inside him.

Whatever. He had promised he would continue helping. She had asked him to find out what Eren thought of her and to ask him for permission to pass on his contact. As much as he didn’t like him, he, too, was curious to know Eren’s opinion on her.

“Yo,” he said, trying to catch his partner’s attention. Eren looked up from his notebook.

“Uh – my friends,” he said. “Marco and [Name]. What did you think of them?”

Eren snorted. “Too chatty.”

He rolled his eyes. “Are they too chatty, though, or are you just a piece of sh–”

The other boy stopped him before he could finish his sentence. “Which one of them was it? I couldn’t tell.”

Jean wanted to hit him. Of course he couldn’t tell. He was so fucking oblivious. If [Name] had hired a blimp to fly across the sky, spelling out “[NAME] LIKES EREN” and then got down on one knee with a diamond ring, he _still_ wouldn’t get it.

“[Name],” he said in a low voice. “The girl. She’s the one I was talking about, the one who likes you.”

Eren’s eyes widened with realisation. “Ah,” he said. “I _did_ think she was chattier than the other one. That explains why.”

Anger continued to build up inside Jean, and he tried his best to suppress it. “Anyway,” he said. “What did you think of her? Besides the, uh, chattiness.”

He shrugged. “She’s okay.”

Jean gritted his teeth. He was going to punch this guy in the face. He didn’t care if he got into trouble or failed his Ethics assignment.

“Okay?” he repeated. “You think she’s just ‘okay?’”

“Well, what else am I supposed to say?” Eren replied defensively. “We barely spoke.”

 _AND WHOSE FAULT WAS THAT?_ Jean wanted to argue. Instead, he shook his head and said, “Yeager. Come on. You’re not blind. [Name] looked beautiful today. She dressed up differently than she normally does in class. Surely you noticed, too.”

“I…didn’t?” Eren said. “I met her for the first time today. How was I supposed to know what she usually looks like?”

“SHE’S IN OUR CLASS, YOU DUMBASS!” he yelled.

“Like I said, I didn’t really pay attention to her,” Eren said, annoyed. He gave him a look. “What are _you_ getting so upset for?”

Jean took a deep breath to stop himself from jumping on the table and beating the shit out of Eren. Not only because he knew Eren was physically stronger than him and would pound him to a pulp, but because an upset Eren would worry [Name]. And Jean couldn’t bear the thought of [Name] being sad.

He again thought of how beautiful she had looked earlier. He thought of her flirtatious attempts to talk to Eren. He thought of how all of that was wasted on him, because Eren was Eren.

Any other guy would’ve been thrilled to be the object of [Name]’s affections. He would know – his own roommate had been drooling over her after she had said two words to him. Any guy would be lucky to be her boyfriend.

He took another deep breath to calm himself down.

“I’m just upset,” he said carefully, “because [Name]’s my best friend and you don’t seem to realise how amazing she is. She’s beautiful, smart, funny, kind and interesting. She’s easy to talk to and fun to be around. Like, it’s hard to not want to smile around her. I just…I don’t get why you can’t see that.”

Eren stared at him silently for a minute.

“I see what’s going on here,” he said finally. “Your best friend likes me, and you like her, so you’re angry she doesn’t like you.” He shrugged. “I don’t know much about relationships and stuff, but I don’t think it’s right for you to take your anger out on me.”

“What?” Jean replied, annoyed. “I don’t like – you know what? Never mind. I’ve made myself clear. [Name] likes you and would like to get to know you and maybe go out with you. And you should give her a chance.”

Eren looked at his notebook thoughtfully.

“Okay,” he said. “I mean, I _do_ appreciate that she actually made an effort to talk to me herself. I guess it wouldn’t hurt to get to know her.”

Jean nodded at Eren. A strange emotion was coursing through him. He didn’t know what he was feeling – he had been upset that [Name] was trying so hard and Eren couldn’t see how great she was, but now that Eren had agreed to get to know her, he was still upset.

He tried to shake those thoughts away, reminding himself that what he felt didn’t matter. This development would make [Name] happy. And there was nothing he wanted more than her happiness.

“Thanks,” he said. “You have Instagram?”

As Jean scrolled through Eren’s posts, his thoughts began to drift away again.

[Name] had been right – Eren had a lot of followers, and all his photos were with other people, very few of them solo. He could see why she initially hadn’t wanted to pursue him.

But…[Name] was no slouch, either. Eren may have been attractive, but so was [Name]. Her attractiveness wasn’t like Mikasa’s, the drop-dead-gorgeous kind that turned heads when she walked. [Name] had a different kind of beauty – the kind where, if you spent time around her and got to know her, she blew you away with how genuine and warm she was. He couldn’t explain it – she just had a vibe, a kind, friendly and interesting vibe that attracted people towards her.

The only conclusion he could come to was that Eren was blind. His obliviousness had made him imperceptive to someone like [Name], and Jean felt sorry for him.

He thought back to the night she had told him she liked Eren. She had gone on about how inadequate she felt around him and how much out of her league he was. He now wondered if it was the other way around – Eren didn’t deserve the affections of someone like [Name]. She was the one who was out of _his_ league.

He shot Eren one last look before getting back to work. The bastard had no idea how lucky he was.


	16. The Other Roommate's Intentions

Jean found a nasty surprise waiting for him at breakfast.

He had been eating cereal in his living room again (with milk this time – Floch had made sure to buy it when he went shopping yesterday) when his roommate had sauntered in to make toast. Floch soon brought his breakfast and sat down on the couch next to him. “What’s up, roomie?” he said, in a much-too-friendly tone.

Jean rolled his eyes. “What do you want?”

Floch look taken aback. “I don’t want anything. Why would you think that?”

He studied him warily. He didn’t trust Floch. If he was going out of his way to socialise with him, he definitely wanted something.

“Fine,” Jean said, rolling his eyes. “I’ll spend the night somewhere else, so you and whoever it is can have the apartment to yourselves.”

His roommate looked surprised. “No, Jean,” he said. “I’m not having anyone over tonight. I don’t know why you think I’m speaking to you because I want something. Can’t I have a normal conversation with you without any ulterior motives?”

He frowned at him. “Fine, whatever,” he said, shoving a spoonful of cereal into his mouth. “And no, nothing’s up. What’s up with you?”

“Oh, the usual,” he said lightly. “Just hanging out with friends later. Speaking of friends, how are yours doing?”

Jean felt like something bad was about to happen, but he wasn’t sure what it was. “They’re fine.”

“Good to hear,” Floch nodded enthusiastically. “What were their names again? Marco and, uh…[Name], was it?”

“Yeah. [Name],” Jean repeated. He poked at his cereal, while Floch went on.

“Ah, yes, [Name],” Floch said. “How is she doing? Did she end up meeting Eren?”

He was about to ask how Floch knew about [Name] and Eren when he remembered that he’d been eavesdropping on their conversation a few days ago. “She did,” he said. “Why do you care? You don’t even know her.”

His roommate looked insulted. “Can’t I be concerned for my roommate’s friends?” he asked innocently.

“No,” he replied. “You being concerned for my friends – or me, for that matter – is super weird.”

“I’m a nice guy, Jean.” Floch picked up a piece of toast and chewed on it. “Get used to it. So, are [Name] and Eren together now, or…?”

The question caused his insides to writhe uncomfortably, like he had eaten something bad. “Not yet,” he said.

Having to use the word “yet” was painful. It felt like they were going to get together eventually and the thought of it happening made him want to throw up all the cereal he had eaten.

“Oh, I see,” Floch’s smile was a little too wide for his taste. “She’s still single, then.”

He was about to shove another spoonful of cereal in his mouth when Floch’s words hit him. His entire body filled with dread.

Fuck. It was his fault. He should have seen this coming. Floch had been too nice to him lately and seemed extra-interested in [Name] today. He should’ve known.

“Her being single doesn’t mean anything,” he quickly said. “She’s not going to be one of your…your…your _booty calls_.”

“You’re right, she’s not,” Floch said. Jean felt relieved, until he added, “She’s going to be my _girlfriend_.”

The bowl of cereal slipped from his hand and smashed on the floor. Milk and cereal spilled all over the hardwood, while Floch jumped backwards.

Jean’s head began to pulse with pain and his throat went dry. A shiver ran down his spine.

“No,” he whispered. “You can’t. You’re not – [Name] is _never_ going to go out with you.”

“Oh, she will,” Floch said confidently. Seeing that Jean was not doing anything about the mess that was his breakfast, he grabbed a dishtowel from the kitchen and began placing pieces of ceramic in it. “No one’s immune to my charms, and I’m sure [Name] will be no different.”

Instead of imagining [Name] and Eren together, Jean now pictured Floch with her. He pictured walking into the kitchen in the morning to see his best friend making coffee, wearing his roommate’s shirt. He pictured Floch kissing her as he came in to make breakfast. He pictured [Name] naked on the couch, straddling Floch like she had straddled _him_. He pictured Floch's hands where his had been.

Without warning, he ran towards the bathroom and threw up into the toilet bowl.

He heard Floch walk into the bathroom as he continued to throw up. “Yikes,” Floch said. “I expected you to not be happy about this. But throwing up is just…insulting.”

Fuck. His weak stomach was acting up again. He tried his best to remove thoughts of [Name] naked with his roommate from his brain. But the more he tried not to think of it, the more he thought about it. He bent his head over the toilet bowl and heaved again.

“Um, Jean?” Floch sounded worried. “This…this isn’t normal. Should I call someone?”

Jean was feeling slightly better now. He stood up and rinsed his mouth at the sink, before cleaning his puke from the toilet. Without looking at Floch, he growled, “Stay away from [Name].”

“Why?” asked Floch. He followed him to the living room, where Jean proceeded to clean the mess from the floor. “Give me one good reason why I can’t go out with her.”

Jean rolled his eyes. “I’ll give you three,” he said. “One: she’s my best friend, so that automatically puts her off-limits to you. Two: [Name] is out of your league, so don’t even try. Three: you’re a piece of shit. You treat women like crap, and you are NOT going to treat her that way. I don’t want her to come crying to me because you didn’t call or gave her an STD or whatever.”

“Okay, first of all,” Floch replied, “I do _not_ treat women like crap. I’m a gentleman – I take care of their needs before mine, if you catch my drift.” Jean would’ve vomited again at that, but there was nothing left in his stomach for him to bring up. “And I really like [Name] – for fuck’s sake, I took the effort of remembering her name, which already makes her special. Second, leagues are bullshit and you know it. Anyone can be in anyone’s league if they try hard enough. And finally, you don’t own her. She may be your best friend, but she’s free to make her own decisions. If she decides to date me, there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Jean was starting to get angry. He didn’t know what was worse – the fact that Floch wanted to pursue [Name], or that he was making some very valid points.

“Also,” Floch added, “bit hypocritical of you to not want her to date your roommate when you’re trying to get into _her_ roommate’s pants, hm?”

He hated everything about this. And he hated to think that the way he was feeling right now was probably how [Name] had felt when he had expressed his interest in Mikasa.

“Do what you want,” he said finally. Floch nodded and went back to his toast, while Jean cleaned up the milk and cereal off the floor.

When he was done, he got dressed, grabbed his phone and keys and left the apartment. He had a feeling if stuck around any further, he would end up unwittingly murdering his roommate.


	17. The Best Friend's Thoughts

You answered the door to find Jean standing there, his hands shoved in his pockets.

“Jean?” you said. “What are you…”

You stopped speaking when you saw his face. He looked terrible. His hair was messed up and his eyes were rimmed red. His clothes were crumpled, like he’d dressed in a hurry. His face was pale and he smelled slightly acidic, like vomit.

Your heart felt heavy. You couldn’t bear seeing him like this. “What happened?” you asked, studying his face.

He did not answer and instead walked into your apartment. As he sat down on the couch, you saw him glance up at Mikasa’s door.

“She’s not home,” you said. Had Mikasa done something to him?

He shook his head. “I’m not here for her,” he muttered. “I looked because…old habits die hard, I guess.”

You sat down next to him on the couch, filled with sadness. You wished he would tell you what was wrong, but you didn’t want to push him to speak if he didn’t want to.

Still, you had to try. “What’s wrong, Jean?” you said quietly. “Why are you…”

But he shook his head, indicating he didn’t want to talk about it.

Tears filled your eyes. As much as he annoyed you and made fun of you, he was still your best friend. You cared about him. You loved him. And seeing him in this state was causing your heart to break.

You found yourself reaching out to take his hand. “I know you don’t want to talk about it,” you whispered. “Just know that whatever you’re going through, I’m here for you. And I’ll be there to listen when you’re ready to talk about it.”

He squeezed your hand hard. “I just…” he whispered. “I wanted to see you. I’m so confused. I don’t know what to do…why I feel this way…”

“What are you confused about, Jean?” you asked gently. “What’s troubling you?”

He shook his head again. “Forget it.” Finally meeting your eyes, he said, “Tell me something, [Name]. Do you like Eren?”

After everything that had happened in the past month, that felt like a weird question to ask. “I do,” you nodded.

“Why?” he asked.

“Why?” you repeated. “What do you mean, why? Why does anyone like someone? I mean, you don’t see me asking you why you like Mikasa.”

He made a face at you, and you were glad to see that he seemed to be returning to normal. “Answer the question.”

You thought hard. “Well,” you said. “I mean…obviously, he’s nice to look at.”

He nodded. “Go on.”

“He, um,” you said. “I admire his passion? The way he always stands up for what he believes in and fights for what he wants?”

He nodded again.

“And…” you said. “And I…I…” You paused when you realised you couldn’t think of anything else. “I…I’m sure there’s more, but I can’t think of anything else right now.”

There was a silence. You studied him, while he gazed at the floor. You did not let go of his hand.

Eventually, he looked up. “You’re going to hate me for saying this,” he said. “But if I don’t speak up, it’s going to eat me up inside and I’ll hate myself more than I already do.”

“Jean…” you whispered.

“I…” He gripped your hand hard. “I don’t think you and Eren are right for each other.”

You immediately began to get angry, but he silenced you with a pleading look.

“He’s very intense,” he explained. “I know you like that about him, but he’s also… _dumb_. Like…Sasha when she has too much sugar dumb. Not to mention he has literally _nothing_ in common with you.”

“That doesn’t matter,” you said stiffly. “I don’t care about…”

“I know,” he said. “I know you don’t care about that.” He looked away. “I’m just saying, you deserve better.”

Blood rushed to your face and you felt a warmth inside.

He played with your fingers as he spoke, entwining his thumb between them. His own face was tinged pink. “You deserve the world, [Name],” he said softly. “I’m not just saying this because you’re my best friend. Well, okay, maybe I am. Because I see things he doesn’t. I see how amazing you are. How you take care of Marco and me. How you make us smile. How you go out of your way to help anyone who asks. The way your face lights up when you talk about something you’re passionate about. How beautiful you are.”

He looked into your eyes. Your heart thumped loudly in your chest while your face continued to flame.

“You need someone who’ll treat you right, the way you deserve to be treated,” he finished. “And if Eren’s that person, then great. But, from what I’ve seen so far, he doesn’t seem like it.”

“I…” You opened your mouth to speak, but the words would not come out. Instead, you swallowed hard and studied the coffee table with great interest.

You suddenly felt Jean’s warmth beside you. You shifted closer towards him so his side was touching yours.

“Are you saying you don’t want to help me with Eren anymore?” you asked. “Because you don’t approve of him?”

“I didn’t say that,” he said, shaking his head. “You said you liked him, and I want you to be happy. So, I’ll keep helping you. I just…I have one request.”

“What?” you asked.

A wry smile appeared on his face. “Don’t ask why, but if anyone else – besides Eren – asks you out, make sure you say no,” he said. “There are a lot of shitheads in the world, some of them worse than him.”

You narrowed your eyes at him. “That’s ominous.”

“Just trust me on that,” he said. “And, here.” He pulled out his phone and typed something. Within seconds, your phone beeped on the coffee table. “To prove that I’m serious about helping you.”

You stared at the single word Jean had texted you. “What’s ‘yeagerist’?” you asked.

“His Instagram,” Jean explained. “Now slide into his DMs,” he smiled softly, “and show him what I see.”

Your eyes filled with tears again. You found yourself reaching forward to give him a hug.

He was so warm. So comforting. You would’ve stayed in his arms longer, if not for the fact that you had Eren freaking Yeager’s Instagram and therefore another chance to attract his attention.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me,” you said, standing up, “I have some DMs to slide into.”


	18. The Assignment Partner's Texts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I understand that most people these days use Snap for talking like this, but as a b0omer (mentally, at least) I never really got into Snapchat and mostly use Instagram sooooo I have them use that instead. Thanks for understanding.

However, as you sat staring at Eren’s profile picture, you realised you had no idea what to say to him.

You had already sent him a follow request and he hadn’t responded yet. He was probably busy. You scrolled through his posts. Most of them were pictures of him with the soccer team, usually before or after a game. There were some pictures of him with his friends. You recognised Connie in a few of them and even Sasha in a couple.

A lump appeared in your throat as you studied a picture of him with his friends. He looked so happy, like he was having a great time.

If the pictures were any indication, Eren knew how to make friends. He knew how to speak to people and have fun. Which meant he couldn’t get along with you because he didn’t like _you_.

You felt like someone had grabbed your heart and squeezed it dry. Smiling bitterly, you continued scrolling through the photos when something caught your eye.

A flash of black hair. You frowned at the picture and realised you were looking at Mikasa, your roommate. She was standing between Eren and a blonde boy, smiling slightly for the photo.

Confused, you scrolled through his pictures again. Mikasa was in almost all the pictures of Eren with his friends, if not all of them. Huh. They were friends, apparently. Small world.

You didn’t know. How would you have known? You had never asked Mikasa the names of her friends, neither did you see any reason for her to bring them up. You wondered why Connie hadn’t mentioned this to you. Then again, you didn’t think Connie and Sasha were that close to Eren. Eren had a lot of friends, and they were barely present in his pictures. It was mostly Mikasa and the blonde boy in them.

You debated whether you should ask her about it and get her help with him. On one hand, Mikasa seemed a lot closer to Eren than Jean was and would no doubt be a greater help in setting you up. On the other hand, you had seen how oblivious Mikasa had been towards Jean’s feelings. Not to be mean, but you had a feeling that her skills in the romance department were the same as her cooking skills – virtually non-existent.

Your phone vibrated in your hand, interrupting your train of thought. You checked the notification to see that Eren had accepted your follow request.

You smiled with relief. He hadn’t asked to follow you back yet, but that was okay. You quickly typed up a message.

**[name]-chan**

Hey Eren!

How are you?

**yeagerist**

hey

im good

**[name]-chan**

I don’t know if you remember, but I’m [Name], Jean’s friend

We met the other day at the library

**yeagerist**

i remember

**[name]-chan**

So what are you up to rn?

**yeagerist**

lnuch

lunch

As you could see, he was as talkative as ever. Now you knew where Mikasa got her surliness from. Or maybe it was the other way around?

**[name]-chan**

Oh cool

Have fun!

**yeagerist**

thanks you too

Even though you were communicating with him over text, that barrier of awkwardness was still there. You sighed. It was disappointing, but you weren’t ready to give up yet.

You tried texting him randomly over the course of the next three days, but you could not hold a conversation with him. He would either give short, abrupt replies, or you would suddenly get awkward and run out of things to say.

You gripped your hair in frustration. Why was it so hard to talk to him? How did Connie and Mikasa do it?

The nagging feeling that it was you, not him, continued to gnaw inside you. You had texted Connie, asking him if ever thought Eren was “shy”, but Connie had laughed and said Eren was the last person he would call shy. He said Eren was friendly when he was happy and spoke a decent amount.

The lump had come back in your throat at that. So it _was_ you.

On the third night, you lay on your bed staring at your phone, debating how to break the ice with him, when an idea struck you.

You didn’t use Instagram as much as your friends (or rather, Marco and Sasha) did. You usually used it get your meme fix and forward the silly ones to your friends. Surely Eren would appreciate memes too? After all, you had yet to meet a person who didn’t like them.

You scoured your saved meme folder for a good one. Finally, you found one that always made you laugh and quickly sent it to Eren.

After forty-two minutes (geez, how busy was the guy?), your phone beeped.

**yeagerist**

i dont get it

**[name]-chan**

Oh, it’s just a dumb meme haha

**yeagerist**

was that supposed to be funny

whats the joke

You blinked at your phone. What was with this guy? Did he not know what a meme was? And why was he always so rude?

You looked at the picture again. It was funny, wasn’t it? It always made you laugh. Was the joke so deep that it was lost on him?

You decided to get a second opinion.

**[name]-chan**

[picture]

Is this funny?

**frankirstein**

That meme looks like it was made by someone with an iq of 50

**[name]-chan**

Is it funny or not?

**frankirstein**

I laughed

So yes it is

Why do you ask?

**[name]-chan**

Oh good

I was worried

I sent it to Eren but he didn’t get it

**frankirstein**

[Name] I don’t think he knows what a sense of humour is

Or what it means to laugh

**[name]-chan**

Hilarious as always Jean

**frankirstein**

Thanks, I try

Maybe it wasn’t his kind of meme. Maybe his sense of humour was different from yours. After all, it would be unfair to expect Eren to have the same shitty sense of humour that you and Jean did.

It would’ve been a lot easier if he did, though. You seriously debated whether this was a deal-breaker. You didn’t want to date someone who didn’t think you were funny.

You thought of what Jean had said a few days ago.

_You need someone who’ll treat you right, the way you deserve to be treated. And if Eren’s that person, then great. But, from what I’ve seen so far, he doesn’t seem like it._

Your heart beat furiously in your chest and your insides flooded with warmth.

You hoped Jean was doing better with texting Mikasa than you were with Eren. The plan had to work for at least _one_ of you.


	19. The Roommate's Feelings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You probably saw this coming

Jean typed away furiously on his laptop. He didn’t normally do his assignments with this much gusto, but today was a special day.

It was a good day because it was his last time working in the library with Eren Yeager, the man formerly known as Soccer Bastard and formerly known as Whatshisface. They were ten minutes away from completing their assignment and he was thrilled.

His phone vibrated loudly, causing Eren to glare at him. He glared back and checked the notification.

**[Name]**

What did Mikasa say?

Huh? What was she talking about? Was Mikasa supposed to say something to him?

**You**

Wdym

**[Name]**

I assume you’ve been texting her?

How’s that going, you haven’t said anything about it yet

He locked his phone and put it aside. He wasn’t in the habit of leaving [Name] on read, but he didn’t have an answer for her.

He didn’t have an answer because he hadn’t texted Mikasa yet. [Name] had given him her number weeks ago, and he had yet to get in contact with her. He didn’t know why he’d been putting it off – sometimes, with all the drama going on with [Name] and Eren and Floch and simultaneously updating Marco on it, he forgot about it. Other times he would pick up his phone and stare at her number, before tossing it aside when he realised he couldn’t go through with it.

He didn’t know why he didn’t want to text her, but he knew that a lot had changed since the day he had slammed his head on his desk in Ethics class because he couldn’t talk to her. He wasn’t the same person anymore. It wasn’t that the thought of talking to her gave him hives – it didn’t anymore – it was the fact that he didn’t _want_ to.

He sighed. [Name] would continue to annoy him if he didn’t set up a date with her. He had to text her one of these days.

But that day would not be today. Because, right now, he was too happy thinking about how he would be free from Eren forever as soon as they handed in their Ethics assignment.

Wait. No. What was he thinking? Eren was the guy who would soon be his best friend’s boyfriend. He was never going to be free of him.

He sighed again.

“What are you sighing for?” Eren asked, annoyed.

Jean could swear that Eren’s default tone was annoyed. Not that he was one to talk, it was his default tone, too. In fact, if he looked closely enough, he had a feeling he was a lot like Eren than he would have wanted to be.

Ugh. No. Not thinking of that.

“Nothing,” he said. He looked at him. “How are you going with your bit?”

“Done,” Eren looked pleased with himself. “You?”

“Almost,” he said. He went back to typing, before he heard a familiar voice.

“Eren,” Mikasa said, slipping into the booth. “Are you done?”

His mouth fell open in shock. Mikasa was here? Mikasa knew Eren? But how…why…

She blinked on seeing him. “Jean,” she said softly. “Hello.”

“Mikasa,” he said, surprised. “You…here…why…”

Even Eren looked astounded. “Yeah,” he said, looking back and forth between Jean and Mikasa. “How do you two know each other?”

Mikasa’s eyes met Jean’s. “We have a mutual friend,” she said.

Eren shrugged. “Okay,” he said. “Anyway, yeah, I’m done. I just need to check out this book and then we can leave.”

She nodded and slid her legs to the side, allowing him to exit the booth. There was an awkward silence after he left.

Jean cleared his throat. “So, um,” he began, “how do you and Soc – Eren – know each other?”

Mikasa’s eyes flicked towards Eren, whose back was turned towards them as he made his way to the self-checkout kiosk. “We’re childhood friends,” she explained.

“Oh,” he said. For two people who claimed to be childhood friends, Mikasa and Eren had never brought each other up in conversation before. Not that he expected Eren to say anything, but he thought Mikasa would at least tell [Name]. He didn’t think [Name] knew, since she hadn’t mentioned it to him yet.

“Jean,” Mikasa said. He looked at her to find her grey eyes boring into him. “[Name] told me you have feelings for me.”

If he had been drinking something then, he would have dramatically choked on it and spit it out. But he wasn’t, so he could only stare at her with his mouth open, eyes bulging out of his skull.

[Name] had conveniently forgotten to mention that she had told Mikasa that he liked her. _Geez, [Name]. Way to go._

Before he could answer, Mikasa spoke again. “She doesn’t know, does she?”

He frowned. “Know what?”

She studied him, as if trying to decide if he was playing dumb or not. Finally, she sighed. “I see,” she said quietly. “You don’t know either. You either haven’t realised it, or have, but are denying it.”

What on earth was she talking about? “Mikasa, I have no –”

“You better hurry up,” she said, interrupting him. “You don’t have as much time left as you think you do. [Name] is a good person. Don’t do this to her.”

He continued to look at her, a baffled expression on his face. He saw her gaze drift towards Eren again. To his horror, her eyes filled with tears.

“Don’t,” she whispered, hastily blinking the tears away. “Don’t wait for too long, only to watch her slip out of your hands. Don’t make the same mistake I did.”

He stared back and forth between Mikasa and Eren, until he understood.

Eren appeared again, the library book under his arm. He didn’t notice Mikasa inconspicuously wipe her tears with the back of her hand.

“Ready to go?” he asked her, slinging his bag over his shoulder.

She nodded. Shooting one last glance at Jean, she said, “Think about what I’ve said.”

“Bye, Horseface,” Eren said cheerfully as he and Mikasa left the booth. “See you around.”

Normally, he would’ve beaten the shit out of Eren for saying that (or at least attempted to, since he couldn’t win). But he could only stare ahead in space as realisation hit him.

He hadn’t understood what she’d been talking about earlier regarding [Name], but he understood the second half of it.

He thought of how sad Mikasa had looked. He thought of the way she had looked at Eren. He remembered how she had called him her childhood friend.

Now he knew. He knew his potential relationship with her was doomed. He knew he never had a chance with her. Not because, as many had pointed out, Mikasa was gorgeous and would never date someone like him.

Because she was hopelessly, irrevocably in love with someone else.

He should’ve been upset. He should have been headed straight home, digging into a large tub of Chunky Monkey and crying as he binge-watched old episodes of Gundam. Anyone would’ve been heartbroken to learn that the person they liked, their muse, was in love with someone else.

But instead, he couldn’t help feeling…relieved.

He was free of Mikasa. He had a valid excuse to stop pursuing her, something he now realised he’d been looking for lately.

He had seen it coming. It had started off small – at that dinner date, he had realised how hard it had been to speak to her and to get her to respond. At some point, he’d been talking to [Name] so much that he had forgotten she was in the room too. And it had been so weird being alone with her afterwards that he had decided to just walk out of the apartment.

Then there was her number. Despite having it for weeks, he hadn’t done anything about it. Neither had the HOLY-SHIT-I-HAVE-MIKASA’S-NUMBER feeling hit him.

And now this. He was just finally glad to admit that he didn’t like Mikasa anymore. He had thought she was beautiful, but that was it. He was not attracted to her otherwise.

[Name] would be so mad when she found out. She would complain about all the work she put in to get them together, only to watch him throw it away. And he had a feeling [Name] would keep nagging him until he saw the whole plan through – which meant completing Step Four and asking Mikasa on a date.

And what about [Name]? There was still the matter of her roommate being in love with the guy she liked. How was that going to go down?

What was he supposed to do? Would the right thing be to tell her? She deserved to know. And she would tell him if she was in his shoes (not that she had told him about telling Mikasa about his feelings, but that was beside the point).

But…that would make things awkward between [Name] and Mikasa. And he knew [Name] would give up on Eren to keep Mikasa happy – that was the kind of person she was. But that didn’t mean she wouldn’t be heartbroken. And the thought of her being sad made him want to cry. He would do anything to spare her that pain.

Fuck. His head was beginning to hurt.


	20. The Other Study Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So with this chapter we come close to the end of this bad story about bad matchmaking! Expect it to end in the next week or so. Thank you to everyone for reading so far and hope you enjoy the rest of it!

Your phone beeped next to you. You put down your cup of coffee and pushed your laptop aside to check the notification, thinking it was Eren.

**flochyeah**

Hey [Name]

Huh? Who was this? This person had sent you a follow request yesterday, but you hadn’t responded as you didn’t know who it was.

You ignored the text and went back to studying. After a few minutes, your phone beeped again.

**flochyeah**

It’s Floch btw

Jean’s roommate

Oh. You squinted at his profile picture. You hadn’t recognised him with his shirt on, but it was the same guy you’d seen crouching behind Jean’s sofa.

Bit weird of him to be texting you, but you shrugged. He was Jean’s roommate, so it probably wouldn’t hurt to be friends with him. You accepted his follow request and sent him one back.

**[name]-chan**

Hi Floch

How are you?

**flochyeah**

Good thanks

Yourself?

**[name]-chan**

I’m good, thanks for asking

You hadn’t liked Floch – your first impression of him spying on you and Jean wasn’t the best. But hey, at least he had the decency to ask you about yourself, something that Eren had yet to do. And he was also being nice, another concept that Eren couldn’t seem to grasp.

**flochyeah**

What are you doing right now?

You sighed as your phone buzzed again. Maybe if you told him you were studying, he would leave you alone.

**[name]-chan**

Studying

**flochyeah**

What a coincidence, I’m studying too! 😁

If he was studying, why was he texting you?

**flochyeah**

Mind if I joined you?

Studying alone is booring 😫

You sighed. You didn’t want to entertain him and honestly just wanted to study by yourself.

**flochyeah**

We could be study buddies! 😄

Was it just you, or did he seem a bit too excited at the prospect of studying with someone he barely knew?

**[name]-chan**

Why don’t you ask Jean to study with you?

**flochyeah**

He ditched me and went somewhere

I’m all alone now 😭 

You massaged your temples as your phone beeped. He was clearly going to keep annoying you until you agreed to study with him.

**[name]-chan**

Fine. I guess we could study together.

**flochyeah**

Awesome!

Where are you now?

**[name]-chan**

The café outside the administration building on campus

Shingeki no coffee

**flochyeah**

Be right there!

Can’t wait to see you 😍

What was with that heart face? Did he just go around sending it to people he didn’t know? You shook your head and got back to work.

Unfortunately, the fates were determined _not_ to let you study today, as your phone rang three minutes later.

You glared at Jean’s name flashing across the screen. You had to put the thing on mute as soon as possible.

“What now?” you said as you answered the phone.

There was a pause. “You sound annoyed,” Jean said.

“I _am_ annoyed,” you muttered. “Anyway, what’s up?”

He went silent again and you started to feel your irritation increase. “What is it, Jean?” you asked. “I don’t have all day.”

“I have to tell you something,” he blurted.

“And what is it?”

“It’s more of a face-to-face kind of thing,” he said. “Where are you right now?”

Talk about bad timing. It was unfortunate that he would ask to meet you just as you had agreed to meet his roommate.

“I’m studying at the Shingeki no Coffee on campus,” you said. “Although this isn’t a good time, your roommate Floch is coming over to –”

There was a sound of something crashing on the other end, causing you to stop mid-sentence. After fifteen seconds, you heard Jean breathe into the phone again.

“Jean?” you asked, concerned. “You good?”

“He’s WHAT?” Jean said loudly, causing you to flinch. “Floch is coming to see _you_?”

“Um…yeah?” you said hesitantly. “He said he wanted to study with me? I’m not even sure why, we don’t have any–”

“For fuck’s sake, [Name]!” he barked. “Why did you agree to that?”

Your annoyance increased. “What are _you_ getting your panties in a twist for? This has nothing to do with you.”

He gave the longest sigh you’d ever heard. “[Name],” he said slowly. “What did I tell you when I came over to yours a few days ago?”

“Um,” you said, trying to remember. But the only thing that came to your mind was Jean’s long emotional speech about how Eren wasn’t good enough for you. Blood inadvertently rushed to your cheeks. “Are you saying I should spend time with Floch because he’s a better person than Eren?”

There was a long silence. Which was weird because Jean was almost _always_ never silent. You waited for him to say something, but he didn’t.

“Okay, fine, I don’t remember,” you said in a small voice. “What did you say?”

You heard a click on the other end and pulled back your phone to see that he had hung up on you. The bastard had hung up on you.

You were infuriated. What a bitch. You couldn’t believe he was treating you like this. You gritted your teeth hard as you threatened to crush the phone in your grip.

Well, whatever. You didn’t have time for this. You took another sip of coffee as you went back to your laptop, trying to get into study mode.

Fifteen minutes later, a shadow fell over your table. You looked up to see Floch smiling at you, his arms around a textbook.

“Hi, [Name],” he held out his hand. “Allow me to introduce myself properly. Floch Forster.”

“[Name],” you said, shaking his hand warily. You gestured to the chair across from you. “Good to see you.”

Instead of sitting in the chair across, he dragged another chair from a table nearby and sat to your left, his thigh brushing against yours.

Um. What?

“The pleasure’s all mine,” he said in a smooth voice. “Thanks for letting me join you today.”

“That’s okay,” you said, inching your chair to the right. You glanced back at your laptop. “Well, I gotta get back to my studies, so…”

“Ooh, what are you studying?” he asked curiously. He leaned closer towards you to peek at your laptop, his hair brushing your nose.

Yikes. He smelled...strong. You swallowed, uncomfortable with how close he was. “Just going over my Management notes, so…”

“Oh, you take that class?” he asked, interested. “A friend of mine takes it too. I hear it’s pretty tough.”

“It’s not too bad,” you replied. “I mean, as long as I study regularly,” you glanced pointedly at your laptop, hoping he would get the hint, “I can keep up.”

He looked impressed. “Wow, [Name],” he said reverently. He touched your arm, patting it lightly. “You are _so_ smart.”

You glanced at his hand, confused. Why was he touching you? And was he seriously calling you smart for doing the bare minimum? What was _with_ this guy?”

“Um,” you said, debating how to ask him to get his hand off you without being rude.

Before you could say anything, you heard hurried footsteps. Jean appeared at your table, panting loudly.

You sighed with relief. You didn’t think he would actually come, since he’d been a prick over the phone, but it was good to see him. As angry as he’d made you earlier, you needed him right now.

“[Name],” he said, looking at you. He saw Floch, and his expression soured when he noticed his hand on your arm. “I see Floch’s already here.”

“Oh, Jean,” you said happily. Maybe he could keep Floch busy while you studied. You gestured to the chair in front of you. “Please join us.”

“I’m sure Jean has other things to do,” Floch gave a thin smile at him. “Wouldn’t you rather be somewhere else, Jean?”

Instead of sitting down, Jean walked around so he was standing behind you and Floch. He quickly slapped Floch’s hand off you, before dragging the extra chair to your right and taking the seat.

“I’d love to join you,” he said. Looking at Floch, he added, “And no, there’s no place I’d rather be than right here, with my roommate and my _best friend_.”

Floch glared at Jean while Jean glared back. You looked at them, your gaze darting between both boys. You had a feeling there was something going on that you didn’t know about.

But you didn’t care. Glancing at your lecture notes yet again, you said, “Well. I’m going to get back to what I was doing, so…”

“Oh, yes, of course,” Floch said, giving you a friendly smile. He placed his arm on your back. “Before you begin, can I get you a coffee?”

What was with this guy and touching? You supposed he was one of those extra-touchy people, but he didn’t know you. And was it your imagination, or was he pulling you closer towards him?

“That’s okay, I’ve got one right here.” You lifted your cup at him. “I’m going to –”

He laughed, hand pressing harder into your back, stroking it slightly. “That cup’s empty, [Name],” he said. “I’m getting you a new one.”

Fortunately, Jean came to your rescue. “That won’t be necessary,” he said quickly. He again knocked Floch’s arm off your back, before placing his own there. “I can get her a coffee.”

You sighed with relief. You didn’t mind Jean’s arm there: you had always found his touch comforting.

“I asked first,” Floch said, giving Jean that thin smile again. He stubbornly pushed Jean’s arm off and placed his back there.

Jean shrugged. “That doesn’t mean anything,” he said. “Unlike you, I already know how she takes her coffee.” He pushed Floch’s arm off again.

“Big deal,” Floch scoffed. “Like it’s hard to learn all those little things about her, such as how she likes her coffee and so on.” He looked at you. “How _do_ you take your coffee, [Name]?”

“I –” you said.

“Big talk coming from the guy who could barely remember her name before,” Jean challenged.

“Well, at least I made the effort of asking her out, instead of crashing someone else’s date!” Floch yelled.

Wait, what? Floch had asked you out? Was this supposed to be a date? Was he interested in you?

“At least I’m not asking her out only to sleep with her and never call again!” Jean yelled back.

“I TOLD YOU, THAT’S NOT WHAT I’M TRYING TO DO HERE!” Floch was close to screaming. “STOP MAKING ME LOOK BAD IN FRONT OF HER!”

“I DON’T HAVE TO MAKE YOU LOOK BAD, YOU’RE DOING A PRETTY GOOD JOB OF IT YOURSELF!” Jean yelled.

You had just wanted to study…

Floch stood up. “WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM? YOU TOLD ME TO DO WHAT I WANT! AND I WANT TO GO OUT WITH HER! WHY CAN’T YOU JUST LEAVE US ALONE?”

Jean also stood up. “BECAUSE I DON’T _WANT_ YOU TO GO OUT WITH HER! SHE DESERVES _WAY_ BETTER THAN YOU!”

You saw the other patrons of the café shoot you alarmed looks. The barista looked at the boys disapprovingly.

“OH, WHAT, LIKE _YOU?_ ” Floch scoffed.

“MAYBE!” Jean cried. “I’D MAKE A BETTER BOYFRIEND THAN YOU ANY DAY! AT LEAST I ACTUALLY CARE ABOUT HER AND AM NOT JUST TRYING TO GET INTO HER PANTS!”

You had had enough.

Before Floch could retort, you stood up and slammed your hand on the table.

“Both of you,” you said in a low, dangerous tone. “Shut. The Fuck. Up.”

They gulped and sank back into their seats, looking visibly afraid.

You put the lid down on your laptop, before gathering your things and shoving them into your backpack.

“[Name], are you leaving?” Floch asked sadly. “I thought we were studying together!”

“Yeah…no,” you said. Slinging your backpack over your shoulder, you said, “I’m going to go get some actual studying done. _Alone._ Jean,” you glanced at him, “call me when this dick-measuring contest is over. Floch,” you looked at him with distaste, “don’t call me.”

With that, you left the café, leaving behind two boys with stunned looks on their faces.


	21. The Final Step

You were pissed.

Jean had called you fifteen times since the incident at the café, but you had not answered any of his calls. (Yes, you were aware that you were the one who had asked him to call, but you were still too angry to speak to him).

What was with his and Floch’s dumb behaviour before? Shingeki no Coffee was your favourite coffee shop on campus and they had embarrassed you in front of the staff and the other regulars. You barely knew Floch, so you couldn’t say his antics had caught you off-guard, but Jean? What the hell was wrong with him? Since when was he so possessive over you and who you studied with? Okay, so apparently Floch was a dick, but that was no reason for Jean to act the way he had!

As you flounced on your bed, your phone vibrated in your pocket again. Jean.

You declined the call, like you’d been doing all afternoon. You were still mad at him.

What was that he had said while arguing with Floch? _I’d make a better boyfriend than you any day! At least I actually care about her and am not just trying to get into her pants like you!_

You couldn’t even begin to point out everything that was weird about that. Firstly, how could he claim he would make a better boyfriend than Floch? That was territory your mind had never wandered in, because, let’s face it: Jean? Your boyfriend? The thought of it was…

…not gross, actually. Wait, were you blushing?

You shook your head. He said he cared about you. What did that mean? Did he care about you in a “she’s-my-best-friend-so-stay-away-from-her” way, or in a “she’s-my-best-friend-but-I-wish-she-was-more-so-stay-away-from-her” way?

And since when had he wanted to get into your pants??? And why the fuck were you blushing so hard???

 _Turn it off,_ you begged yourself. _You don’t like him. He’s your best friend. You’re just flustered because he said those things, and he only said them because he was trying to protect you from Floch._

You gave a loud, angry huff. You were mad at Floch for everything that had happened, mad at Jean for making you so flustered, but most of all, mad at yourself for feeling that way.

This was only happening because you were still single. If Eren had been your boyfriend, like he should’ve been by now, none of this would’ve happened.

All you had ever wanted was someone who just... _got_ you. Someone you could talk to easily. Someone who would laugh at your dumb jokes and snuggle with you while watching anime. Someone who would hold your hand and hug you and maybe get you giant cookies when you were upset. Someone who would love you with all their heart. Was that too much to ask for?

You gritted your teeth angrily. That’s it. You were tired of waiting. You would take matters into your own hands and make it happen.

**[name]-chan**

Hey Eren

[Location]

Do you know this restaurant?

You put on some music and stared at the ceiling patiently while you waited for him to reply, because you knew by now that Eren would take up to five business days to respond. Fortunately, your phone vibrated after twenty-four (twenty-four? New record!) minutes.

**yeagerist**

yeah

kbbq

havent been there before but ive seen it in town

**[name]-chan**

Great!

I’ll see you there tomorrow evening at six!

**yeagerist**

wait what

**[name]-chan**

It’s a date!

**yeagerist**

huh

what if I had something else on then

arent you supposed to ask if im free firsrst

**[name]-chan**

No❤️

See you tomorrow!

You sighed with relief as he stopped replying. It wasn’t like you to be pushy – in fact, you couldn’t believe you had just strong-armed Eren Yeager into going on a date with you, after not being able to speak to him coherently. But your love life was in shambles, and desperate times called for desperate measures. You already knew Eren was oblivious and dense, so this was probably your best bet at getting your point across.

As you stared at the ceiling again, it occurred to you that you’d done it. By asking Eren on a date, you’d finished Step Four, and thereby fulfilled the plan.

But…the plan had never exclusively been about getting a date with him. It had always been about you and Jean working together to help each other out with your crushes. And…it didn’t feel the same without him by your side.

Was Jean even following the plan? Ever since you had given him Mikasa’s number, there had been radio silence from his end. He had not said anything about how his progress with her was going. You had no idea if they had managed to build up their friendship or if she had rejected him. You had texted him before to ask, but he had left you on read. Was it so bad that he didn’t want to talk about it?

Against your will, your hopes began to rise. Maybe…maybe he had given up on her? Maybe he didn’t like her anymore? Maybe…

No. Stop it. You couldn’t let yourself think that. For one, he was still your friend and even though you were mad at him, you wanted him to be happy. Secretly wanting them to _not_ hook up wasn’t going to make him happy. It was also hypocritical of you to not want _them_ to work out when you had literally just asked your crush on a date. And finally, you were sure your brain and heart were playing tricks on you. They were making you believe you had feelings for Jean, when you knew you were just thinking that way because of what he’d said before at the coffee shop.

But…this wasn’t the first time you had felt this way. You remembered his speech to you a few days ago, where he’d listed all the reasons why you deserved better than Eren. You remembered how warm you had felt inside when he’d said those words. How he had noticed you were agitated while shopping for dinner and had tried to cheer you up. How –

Fuck it. No. You liked Eren. You were going on a date with Eren.

The plan had always been about _both_ you and Jean getting dates…

Sigh. You had to do something. If not to stop yourself from thinking about him that way (he was your best friend, for Sheena’s sake!), for his happiness, at least. And Mikasa’s. Because she was kind of your friend too, wasn’t she?

You slowly opened your bedroom door and shot a glance at Mikasa’s room. She was home, for once. Good.

Swallowing the large lump in your throat, you walked towards her door and knocked loudly.

“Hello, [Name],” Mikasa said, giving you a small nod as she opened the door. “What is it?”

“Hi, Mikasa,” you smiled, even though you felt like a fraud. “I’ll be quick. Has Jean asked you out yet?”

She blinked at you. “He hasn’t,” she said. “And I don’t think he will.”

You forced a laugh. “Don’t think like that, Mikasa! You know how much he likes you! He’s practically in love with you, poor bastard. Hasn’t he confessed while texting you yet?”

She continued to blink at you. “[Name],” she said slowly. “Jean hasn’t texted me. Because –”

You frowned at her. “Wait, what?” you said. “He hasn’t texted you? Like, at all?”

She shook her head. “He hasn’t. And he won’t, because –”

“I see,” you said, interrupting yet again. “Wait here.”

You walked towards your room, leaving her standing there with a concerned expression on her face. As soon as you were out of sight, you gritted your teeth and clenched your fists. Hard.

You had given him her number ages ago, and he hadn’t even texted her yet.

You had always assumed he’d been avoiding talking about her because she had said something to upset him. But he’d been avoiding it because he hadn’t had the balls to text her in the first place.

Ugh. You sighed angrily. Did you have to do _everything_ here? Did you have to hold Jean’s hand and guide him into the basics of talking to a girl and asking her out, while simultaneously _not_ wanting them to date?

Apparently, yes. Because it looked like he was not going to get anything done without your help.

You scrolled through your phone, looking up events taking place in the city. When you found something that interested you, you put your phone away and made your way back towards Mikasa’s room.

“Hey. So,” you began, trying to keep your voice steady. “I’m sorry about Jean. He really likes you, but he’s shy. He clams up when he has to speak to you.”

Mikasa gave you a look. “Somehow, I don’t think that’s the case,” she said.

“It is,” you assured her. “I’ve known him for a while now, I know how he operates. Anyway, he really likes you, and he was telling me earlier how he wants to ask you out.”

She gave you another look. “You’re lying.”

“Am not,” you said, your ears going hot at being caught in the lie. “But that’s not the point. There’s an exhibition going on at the art gallery tomorrow, and he wants you to see it with him.”

She continued to give you that piercing stare. “I don’t believe you.”

“Please do,” you begged. “If not for him, at least for me. I…” Your voice broke. “I…want him to be happy. And he wants to be with you. Please, just…do this for me and meet him there.”

Mikasa looked pained. “[Name]…” she said softly.

You could feel your eyes beginning to water. “Great!” you said, smiling brightly and blinking the tears away, hoping she wouldn’t notice. “Jean will see you at the art gallery at six tomorrow! Have fun!”

Ignoring her worried gaze, you quickly made your way back to your room at shut the door. You slid to the floor, hot tears flowing down your face and nose running.

Why were you such a fucking hypocrite? You liked Eren. You were going out with him. What gave you the right to chase two guys at the same time, one of whom was your best friend and belonged with your roommate?

 _Stop,_ you begged yourself. _Stop thinking about him that way. You like Eren. Jean is a pain in the ass. STOP THINKING ABOUT HIM THAT WAY!_

But the tears continued to flow down your face.


	22. The Best Friend's Feelings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My personal favourite chapter. Hope you like it too :)

Jean sat cross-legged on the floor of his living room, staring at the blank sheet of paper before him. His tablet was placed at one corner of the sheet, Mikasa’s picture on it.

He had an assignment due for his Visual Art class soon and he hadn’t started yet. They had been asked to draw a portrait in charcoal and their works would be displayed in a university-wide exhibition next week.

With all the drama going on in his life lately, he hadn’t had the time to work on his portrait. He had decided ages ago that he would be drawing Mikasa – she was his muse, after all – and had sneakily snapped up a picture of her during Psych to use as a reference. Yes, he was aware that was unethical, but he didn’t think Mikasa was one of those “draw-me-like-one-of-your-French-girls” types who would readily pose for him. The picture by itself wasn’t terrible – it was just her sitting towards the front of the lecture hall, staring vacantly at the professor’s presentation. Yet whenever he looked at the photo, the inspiration would not come.

He knew what the problem was. [Name].

She seemed to be mad at him after the café thing with Floch, though he wasn’t sure why. He had been trying to help her, because he knew Floch was a creep at worst and affable fuckboy at best. She shouldn’t have been so mad at him for doing her a favour!

Okay, maybe he had taken it a little overboard with the arguing. Maybe screaming at Floch hadn’t been the best way to handle the situation. And maybe he shouldn’t have been so overprotective – [Name] had little tolerance for BS and probably would’ve kicked Floch’s ass if he’d gone too far. And, and maybe, he should’ve just let her study, like she wanted to.

Picking up his phone, he called her for the bazillionth time that evening. As expected, it went to voicemail.

He sighed. She was still avoiding him, apparently, and he was breaking inside. He couldn’t bear the thought of her being upset at him. It was affecting his ability to concentrate on his work and be a functional human being. He needed to talk to someone, anyone, about everything he was feeling and get his head straight.

His roommate Floch walked out of his room and made his way to the kitchen. He shot him a look on his way there, which Jean returned with a glare.

He had not spoken to Floch all day, not since the café thing. Floch had set his sights on the one girl Jean had declared off-limits and had proclaimed her to be his new target. Hell, he wouldn’t have minded so much if it was _Mikasa_ his roommate wanted to pursue. Besides, knowing what he did about Mikasa, she wouldn’t have given him the time of day. But [Name]? His [Name]? How could Floch do that to him?

Jean picked up his pencil and once again stared at the picture of Mikasa on his tablet, trying to summon the willpower to draw.

Swallowing hard, he began to sketch. He started with her hair – it was jet black and straight, so it was easy to outline.

He had barely worked for fifteen seconds when he put down his pencil and sighed again.

He found himself picking up his phone and staring at his texts. The latest text he’d received from [Name] had been twenty minutes ago. It had simply said: _Tomorrow, 6pm, the art gallery. Mikasa will see you there._

What did she mean by that? Was that supposed to be a date? Had Mikasa asked her to relay this information to him? But that didn’t make sense, Mikasa didn’t like him…

He’d tried. He had called her five million times after receiving that text, and had left her an equal amount of messages, trying to get her to explain or at least speak to him. But, as expected, she had ignored them all.

He put down his phone and tried to force himself to draw again. Portraits like this usually took him days to complete – if he did not begin today, there was no way he would finish it in time for the exhibition in three days. He was about to pick up his pencil when he realised something.

He had _two_ best friends, didn’t he?

Minutes later, Marco was seated on the couch, listening to him rant about [Name] and Floch and Mikasa, while he continued to attempt to draw. He knew Floch could hear everything from the kitchen, but he couldn’t care less.

“I see,” Marco nodded. “So she isn’t speaking to you, but wants you to meet Mikasa at the art gallery tomorrow?”

Jean nodded. “Isn’t that weird?” he asked, shading Mikasa’s hair. “Like, why would Mikasa ask me out when she’s in love with Whatshisface? And, while we’re on the subject, how the fuck is Whatshisface getting all these girls without even trying?”

Marco smiled. “You try being hot and popular, maybe Mikasa and [Name] will like you then.”

“Fuck off,” he muttered. He continued to work on his portrait while Marco pondered to himself. The drawing wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good either. He knew that forcing himself wasn’t producing the best results, but he was desperate to get it done.

“Know what’s funny?” he said to Marco, who looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “When I first found out that Mikasa was [Name]’s roommate, I was thrilled. I thought I had finally found my ticket to getting close to her. While trying to convince [Name] to help me, I actually offered to set her up with Floch in return.” He gave a bitter laugh. “And look at me now.”

“How the turn tables,” Marco murmured.

“Exactly,” Jean said. “I…fuck, I hate myself, Marco. I should let [Name] be happy with that Soccer Bastard. I…she should be the one to decide if she wants to be with Floch, not me. I just…why do I care so much? I’m not her dad or anything, I shouldn’t be so bothered over who she chooses as a boyfriend. I don’t _want_ to care so much, but I can’t…I can’t turn it off. I can’t stop wanting to protect her from people like him and it makes me so angry that Yeager fuckface doesn’t see how awesome she is and I want to punch them all in their fucking faces but I…shit, Marco. Why am I like this?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Marco said, a small smile on his face.

“Uh…no?” he said, putting down his pencil to give his friend a look. “If it was obvious, I wouldn’t be acting this way now, would I?”

Marco sighed. “Think about it, Jean. Why _do_ you think you’re acting this way?”

Jean frowned. “I’ve…been spending too much time around Floch, and his horniness is rubbing off on me?”

“Wrong,” Marco shook his head. “Try again.”

“I…” Jean began, “I have a rare disease that is fucking with my head and making me lose my mind.”

Marco smiled. “Close, but no.”

Jean swallowed hard. He wasn’t an idiot – he knew what Marco was trying to imply. He would be lying if he said he hadn’t thought about it before. But he had always blocked those thoughts and feelings from his brain because of their implications. [Name] was his best friend and he had a good thing going on with her. He couldn’t ruin it by wanting – hoping – for more.

“You’re in love with [Name],” Marco said, giving him a knowing look. “And you know it.”

He let out a deep breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. He wanted to scoff, to laugh sarcastically, to tell Marco to get his head out of his ass, but he couldn’t.

“You care about her so much,” Marco said softly. “You notice when she’s unhappy and will do anything to cheer her up. You spent the whole dinner date talking to her instead of Mikasa. You noticed how pretty she looked when she dressed up for that study date – I was there, Jean, your jaw literally _dropped_. You were disappointed when she chose to keep pursuing Eren. And you tried to stop your roommate from hooking up with her, because it was making you so jealous you couldn’t stand it.”

He stared blankly at the sheet in front of him. Mikasa’s hair stared back at him.

“You…knew?” he asked quietly.

His best friend nodded. “I’ve always known. It was one of those ‘everyone-can-see-it’ kind of things.” He paused. “The question is, what are you going to do about it?”

There was a silence as Jean pondered over his words. He thought of his cryptic conversation with Mikasa at the library.

 _You better hurry up_ , she had said. _You don’t have as much time left as you think you do. [Name] is a good person. Don’t do this to her._

_Don’t wait for too long, only to watch her slip out of your hands. Don’t make the same mistake I did._

Eventually, he said, “What can I do about it? She likes Yeager Snotface. Not me.”

“You don’t know that,” Marco pointed out.

He rolled his eyes. “Marco, if she felt something for me, she would’ve spoken up by now. She clearly doesn’t.”

“That argument doesn’t work here, does it?” the freckled boy said. “I mean, you feel something for her, and clearly have for a while, but you haven’t said anything.”

Jean gripped his pencil hard. Marco, as always, was right.

“So what are you saying?” he asked. “Do you want me to confess to her? Do you want me to ruin our friendship and our thing – the three of us – on the small chance that she might feel something too?”

“Why not?” Marco shrugged. “You won’t know unless you try, right?”

“But…” he said. “What if she never speaks to me again? Our friendship – everything we have – what if I screw it up?”

“What if you don’t?” Marco smiled at him.

He shook his head. Marco didn’t understand. His friendship with [Name] meant everything to him.

“You don’t get it, Marco,” he explained. “If this fails, you’ll be stuck being the middleman between us, because she won’t speak to me again. And even if we do remain friends, it won’t be the same – it’ll be so awkward that I’ll regret telling her for the rest of my life. Do you really want to be in that position?”

Marco sighed. “Jean,” he said patiently. “You’ve never been able to hide anything from [Name] or me. You’re honest to a fault, sometimes brutally so. Do you think you’re going to be able to keep something like this from her? All you’ll end up doing is making things awkward and hurting her feelings.”

Jean was starting to get annoyed. “Marco, no,” he said irritably. “I can’t tell her. It’s too much of a risk – especially since I already know she doesn’t feel the same way.”

His best friend shook his head. “Well,” he got to his feet. “I can’t make you do anything you don’t want to. All I’ll say,” he shot him a look, “is that tomorrow, at six, [Name] and Eren are going on a date to that Korean barbeque restaurant we always go to.”

His throat tightened. He stared up at Marco, threatening to break his pencil with how hard he was gripping it. “They’re going on a date?” he whispered.

Marco nodded. “Yeah. She asked him. Called me and told me about it before I got here. If it makes you feel any better, she didn’t sound too excited.” He shot him a sympathetic smile. “I hope you figure out what to do, Jean. I’m rooting for you two.” With one last wave, he walked out of the front door.

Jean continued to sit cross-legged before his portrait, his mouth open. He couldn’t believe it. He had only just come to terms with his feelings, and he was already too late. Just his luck.

He stared at the picture of Mikasa on his tablet. He began to regret wasting so much time pursuing her when he knew his heart was elsewhere.

“Um,” Jean looked up to see Floch peering at him from behind the couch. “Jean. Can we talk?”

He looked away. He was less angry at Floch than he had been before, but his mind was in too much turmoil to say anything.

His roommate took his silence as a yes. He flopped onto the couch and cleared his throat.

“I, uh,” he began. “I couldn’t help hearing what you and Marco were talking about and I…I want to apologise.”

He frowned. Floch, apologising? What was his game here?

“I’m serious,” Floch assured him, as if reading his mind. “I didn’t realise…I mean, I kind of knew, but I didn’t think it was a big deal. I’m sorry for trying to make a move on [Name]. And for everything that happened at the coffee shop. I, uh, I shouldn’t have tried to take what was yours.” He gave him a smile. “A bro’s girl is always off-limits to other bros.”

Jean wrinkled his nose. He didn’t know he and Floch were “bros”.

“I hope you two get together,” Floch continued. “And, um, when you do, maybe tell her your roommate’s very sorry for embarrassing her and making her uncomfortable? I tried texting her, but she hasn’t replied yet.”

When Jean did not respond, Floch said, “Anyway. Consider this as me officially giving up on [Name]. Good luck with everything, man.” He patted his roommate on the shoulder. “I hope things work out for you guys.” With that, he went into his room, leaving the other boy on the living room floor.

Jean swallowed hard. His head continued to buzz, thoughts swarming like flies, while his heart played a sad violin tune. [Name] and Eren were going on a date tomorrow. And Mikasa wanted to go out with him at the same time.

He shot one last glance at the drawing of Mikasa’s hair before him. A wave of sadness washed over him.

He grabbed the sheet in both hands and tore it in half, before tearing it into smaller pieces. He walked towards the trash can and let the portrait of his “muse” float into it.


	23. The Best Friend And The Roommate

Jean walked up the stairs to the art gallery to find Mikasa leaning against the wall, staring blankly ahead.

He tried to smile at her as he approached, but it came off as a grimace instead. “Hey, Mikasa,” he muttered, smoothing down his shirt. He had attempted to dress up nicely, because it was a date, wasn’t it? And he had a feeling that [Name] would kill him if he didn’t try. She still wasn’t speaking to him, but he didn’t want to piss her off more than he had already.

Mikasa looked nice, too, in her black sweater and red skirt, paired with a matching red scarf around her neck. Maybe if this date had taken place a couple of months ago, he would’ve dropped to the ground and started kissing it, thanking the Goddesses for the opportunity, but right now he felt…nothing.

“Jean,” she said, giving him a surprised look. “You came.”

That statement caught him off-guard. She was the one who had asked him out, right? “Was…was I not supposed to come?” he asked.

“I thought…” She shook her head. “No, never mind.”

“Right,” he said, not knowing what else to say. He nervously smoothed down the front of his shirt again. “Shall we get going?”

She nodded and followed him through the sliding doors.

The art gallery was hosting an exhibition titled _Despair: An Emptiness_. The paintings featured were mostly black and white, all giving off an aura of sadness and despondency. He wondered again why Mikasa had chosen something as depressing as this for their date. He kind of got the art gallery bit: he was an artist, she was an introvert, so it felt like a good way to spend time together without trying too hard.

But that nagging feeling continued to plague him. Mikasa loved Eren. And she knew he was in love with [Name]. Why on earth would she ask him out on a date? That, too, at the same time when [Name] was on a date with Eren…

They walked silently through the room, admiring the paintings. He glanced up at one that featured a figure submerged at the bottom of the ocean, staring up at the surface where two people were entwined in an embrace.

 _Same, dude,_ he thought to himself. _Same._

He glanced at Mikasa. She was gazing sadly at another painting a few feet away. Her fingers clutched at her scarf.

She hadn’t said a word to him since they had entered. Either she wasn’t in the mood to talk or had been on some very quiet dates before. He sighed. Walking up to where she was standing, he stood beside her to look at the artwork she was gazing at.

It was a painting of two people, a man and a woman, floating in the sky. The man was represented by sun motifs and was shining brightly, while the woman, painted in a moon motif, gave off a wan glow. She had her hand outstretched, reaching out to the man, but her fingers were burnt.

He glanced at Mikasa and saw a single tear slide down her face. She hastily wiped it off with the back of her hand, before clutching her red scarf again.

“Um,” he said, desperate to break the awkward silence between them. “Nice scarf.”

“Thanks,” she said, looking at the floor. Then, in a voice so small he almost didn’t hear her, she said, “Eren gave it to me.”

He raised his eyebrows at that. She was on a date with him, while being in love with another guy, wearing the scarf he had given her.

“Mikasa,” he said slowly. “Why did you ask me on this date? I thought you didn’t like me…and you knew how I felt about…”

She frowned at him. “I didn’t ask you,” she said. “[Name] told me you wanted to go on a date with me here.”

Was it possible for one’s heart to break and skip a beat at the same time? Jean concluded that it was. [Name], after asking out her crush on a date, was still trying to help him with the person he liked.

Except it was the wrong fucking person.

“I knew she was lying,” Mikasa continued, her gaze on the painting. “But I…she sounded so sad…I couldn’t say no to her…”

She had sounded sad? Why?

He wondered if Mikasa knew about the rest of [Name]’s plan.

“Do you know where she is right now?” he asked quietly.

She nodded. “Eren…mentioned it,” she whispered. “He…wasn’t too happy about it. I hadn’t known that [Name] had feelings for him…but I still want her to be happy…I want him to be happy…”

Her lower lip began to quiver, as if she was holding in a flood of tears. Anger built up inside him.

This was wrong, on so many levels. He was uncomfortable being here with Mikasa. Mikasa was upset. Eren apparently wasn’t happy. [Name] had masterminded the whole thing and was the only one benefitting from the situation.

He wanted her to be happy, even if it had to be with Eren. But did it have to be at the expense of all of them? Was it selfish to put their happiness above hers?

He gazed at the painting he’d been looking at earlier, of the figure in the ocean. The anger flared harder.

“Listen,” he said, swallowing hard. He saw Mikasa glance up at him.

“We both don’t want to be here,” he continued. “Not with each other, at least.”

She nodded. “I…get that,” she replied. “But they…deserve a chance to be with each other. He’s made it clear he doesn’t want to…not with me…”

His nose twitched at the bullshit he could smell.

“Mikasa,” he said slowly. “You haven’t told him about your feelings yet, have you?”

She bit her lip. “I haven’t,” she whispered. “Because I know he doesn’t…”

Jean wanted to facepalm. What was with what she’d said to him at the library? _Don’t wait for too long, only to watch her slip out of your hands. Don’t make the same mistake I did._

That was very ballsy of her to say, considering she hadn’t even confessed to him.

“No, you don’t,” he said, trying to keep the annoyance out of his voice. “He’s never properly rejected you, so you can’t go on assuming things like that. You can’t think, ‘Oh, he doesn’t like me, so I should let my roommate date him even though it breaks my heart.’ That’s just dumb.”

He could feel Marco shaking his head and tutting at him, wherever he was right now, and he wanted to roll his eyes. Yes, he was fully aware that he was being a hypocrite and maybe he should take his own advice, _thank you Marco_.

Mikasa took a deep breath, before nodding resolutely at him. “You’re right,” she said. “You’re absolutely right. Even if things don’t work out for Eren and me…you, at least, deserve a chance to tell her how you feel.”

Jean frowned at that. He wanted nothing more than to be happy with [Name], but the thought of losing their friendship was too much for him to bear.

He suddenly felt Mikasa grab his arm, and turned to find her smiling at him for the first time that evening.

“Why are we still here?” she said, tugging on his sleeve. “We have a date to crash, don’t we?”


	24. The Assignment Partner's Feelings

“Eren!” you said, breaking into a big smile as he walked up to you outside the restaurant. “You’re here!”

He looked good, you observed. He was finally wearing his skinny jeans, paired with a nice grey shirt. He nodded at you as he approached.

“Yeah, well, you asked, so…” He shrugged. “Here I am.”

You smiled as awkwardness settled over both of you. Were you supposed to hug him or shake his hand? A handshake felt too formal, but you didn’t know him well enough to give him a hug. After all, you had spoken to him in person only once.

But Eren didn’t wait for you to greet him. He pushed open the door and walked into the restaurant, leaving you standing there.

You blinked, before following him inside.

“Just the two of you?” The hostess raised her eyebrow at you. You recognised her – after all, you came here often with Jean and Marco. She seemed to recognise you too.

“Yeah, um, it’s just us!” you said, pasting a plastic smile on your face. “This is, um…I’m not with my friends today, so…”

She nodded, and you and Eren followed her to your table. You began to sweat profusely through your clothes.

This was the most awkward date you had ever been on. For one, you were with someone you had barely spoken to before. On top of that, you knew Eren was hard to talk to. You were already dreading the next few hours with him.

 _Well, maybe you shouldn’t have asked him on this date,_ a snide voice in your head said, one that sounded an awful lot like Sasha and Connie. _What were you thinking?_

Shut up, you told the voice. I just want a boyfriend. Is that so wrong?

 _God. How desperate are you?_ the voice replied. _Do you want a boyfriend so badly that you’ll go out with any guy you pick up from the street?_

This isn’t just any guy, you pleaded. This is Eren Fucking Yeager. I’ve had a crush on him since forever…

_Are you sure about that? I do recall you crying over someone else yesterday…_

Shut. Up. Stop making me think I have feelings for Jean. I don’t. He’s my best friend.

_Is that why you’re thinking of him while you’re on this date with Eren?_

SHUT UP! I LIKE EREN, OKAY? LEAVE ME ALONE!

_Whatever you say, [Name]. Whatever you say._

“[Name]?” You blinked to find Eren and a server staring at you with concern. “You okay?”

“I’m…great!” You grinned at the server. “The drinks and meat, um, can we get back to you on that?”

She nodded and left you alone with Eren. You noticed that the grill had been set up while you’d been busy talking to yourself and Eren was helping himself to the side dishes placed on your table.

Silence filled the air. You picked up the bar menu and surveyed the list of _soju_ varieties available. You were in the mood to get smashed. Maybe being drunk out of your skull would make talking to Eren easier.

 _You want to be drunk to survive this date with him?_ the snide voice in your head piped up again. _That’s a red flag if I ever saw one._

I’m just nervous, you thought back. Everyone’s nervous on their first date. Besides, Eren doesn’t seem like a predator or anything.

_Well, okay, red flag might not be the right term. What’s a word you would use to describe the signs that a guy just isn’t right for you? Purple flag? Orange flag?_

What do you mean, Eren isn’t right for me? Just look at him! Look how pretty he is!

_I’m gonna go with orange flag. Anyway, let’s look at the facts, shall we? When you first saw him at the library, he didn’t notice how nice you looked, all dressed up. Jean did._

That doesn’t mean anything. He probably finds it hard to compliment people. And stop bringing Jean into this!!!

_He barely spoke to you the whole time…_

He’s not the most talkative?

_You know that’s not true. Connie told you otherwise. Not to mention he’s a rude SOB._

He’s outspoken, you pleaded desperately. He speaks his mind and it comes off as rude sometimes.

 _He can’t text to save his life,_ the voice pointed out. _He doesn’t get your sense of humour._

That’s true, but…maybe he’ll change if he dates me?

_‘I can change him!’ Big orange flag right there. And finally, he’s dumb AF and has nothing in common with you._

Those aren’t deal-breakers. I can live with that. And why do you sound like Jean now?

_Now who’s the one bringing Jean into this? Just admit it, [Name]. You can’t connect with Eren. He’s not compatible with you._

You glanced at Eren. He had polished off two bowls of side dishes already and was now on his third. He looked uncomfortable.

You sighed. You – or at least, the Sasha/Connie voice in your head – was absolutely right. Jean was right. You couldn’t date this guy. The two of you would make a terrible couple.

Jean…

“Um. Eren.” You put down the bar menu. “There’s something I…”

“Oh, good, you’re finally speaking,” Eren interrupted you, looking relieved. He put down the bowl of kimchi he was eating. “Listen, [Name]. I’m going to be honest with you. We can’t do this.”

You frowned. You had been meaning to say the same thing and it annoyed you that, not only had he been having the same thoughts, but he had beaten you to it.

“When Horseface first told me you liked me and wanted to get to know me, I was annoyed,” he said. “I didn’t like how you were being a pussy by not speaking to me directly about it.”

“Wait, what?” You gripped the edges of the table. “Jean told you I liked you?”

“Yeah,” Eren shrugged.

That bitch. You were going to whoop his ass when you saw him.

“Anyway, when we met at the library, I was pleased that you were making the effort to speak to me and not hide behind Horseface anymore. I tried to speak to you, but…”

He looked into your eyes and swallowed hard. “[Name], I’m sorry. I honestly…don’t feel any connection to you. You’re nice and all, but I can’t bring myself to like you that way and I can’t speak to you without feeling fake. I don’t want to ‘force’ myself to click with you. I think we’re both better than that.”

Silence filled the table as he gazed at you, waiting for you to respond.

“So…why did you come today?” you asked. “If you knew you didn’t like me…that you were never going to like me…”

He looked away. “Armin said I should give you a chance,” he muttered, staring at the grill. “But he also said that if I felt uncomfortable, I should speak up…” He stared at you, eyes blazing. “That’s why I…”

“I see,” you said, not knowing what to feel. You had been meaning to say the same thing to him, but your pride was still hurt from being rejected by your crush for something you had no control over.

Still, you were glad it was out in the open now. You didn’t know who this Armin was, but you thanked the Goddesses he was so wise.

“Anyway,” he shook his head. “I’m glad I got that off my chest. What were you going to say?”

You sighed. “I was going to say the same thing,” you mumbled. “I…I’ve had a crush on you for a while, but…after spending time with you, I just…I don’t think we’re right for each other. I can’t connect with you, either. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Eren said, taking another bite of kimchi. “This is for the best. And, uh, now that this stupid ‘feelings’ stuff is out of the way, maybe we can be friends. Someday.”

You snorted. You were touched that he wanted to be friends with you, but your relationship was too awkward now to move on to friendship.

Still, he wasn’t a bad guy. It would be nice to get to know him as an actual person and not just Eren Yeager, the hot soccer player.

“Yeah,” you said, a dry smile on your face. “Someday.”

There was a silence as you stared at the grill uncomfortably. Eren had finished the kimchi and was now shoving pickled radish into his mouth. Out of the corner of your eye, you could see the server frowning at you, wondering when you were going to order.

You didn’t want to be there anymore. You were relieved to be free of Eren, but you were also angry, upset and annoyed. This was _not_ how you had expected this date to go.

What were you supposed to do? Would it be rude to walk out? Or were you meant to sit there and keep it going? Eren didn’t look like he wanted to leave. He was obviously hungry and looking to eat, if the way he was polishing off those side dishes was any indication.

Maybe if you snuck away while he was eating, he wouldn’t notice? But what about the bill? Well, technically, you hadn’t ordered yet, so it would be okay to leave, right? Eren would be so mad though.

Fortunately, a commotion at the entrance distracted you.

“Excuse me, you can’t do that!” you heard the hostess say loudly. Following the sound of her voice, you were surprised to see Jean and Mikasa arguing with her.

What in the world? Weren’t they supposed to be at the art gallery on their own date? What were they doing here?

Jean saw you and his eyes lit up. “[Name],” he mouthed. Ignoring the hostess’s protests, he walked towards your table, not taking his eyes off you.

“Jean?” you cried. Even Eren looked up, one eyebrow raised. “What are you guys doing here?”

“What does it look like?” he said. “Getting you out of this terrible date.”

You stared at him with your mouth open, before snorting angrily. “I didn’t ask you to come here! All I wanted was for you to go on your date with Mikasa and…”

Eren interrupted you. “[Name]. You don’t want to be here. Admit it.” He rolled his eyes. “If Horseface wants to take you away, let him.”

“But…I…” Your gaze flitted between Eren and Jean, before you sighed. “I suppose I have been wanting to leave. But what about Mikasa? Why is she here? And Eren, are you sure you want to stay here by yourself? Jean, why are you even…”

Jean raised his hand. “Less talking, more getting the fuck out of here.” He grabbed your hand and pulled you to your feet, before dragging you behind him out of the restaurant. You passed Mikasa on the way, still trying to calm down the hostess. She gave you a small smile.

“Bye, [Name]!” Eren cheerfully called after you and Jean. “Bye, Horseface! Have fun!”

You were _so_ confused.

“Okay, first of all,” Jean said, letting go of your hand outside the restaurant. He smiled softly. “You look beautiful.”

Your face immediately heated up. “I…you…” You huffed angrily, before crossing your arms across your chest. “Thanks, I guess. But I’m still mad at you! For the whole Floch thing!”

“Fair enough,” he said. He grabbed your hand again. “I’ll take you home. We can get pizza and talk about it.”

“Fine,” you said. You allowed him to lead you to his car.

This was the weirdest turn of events ever. You would be lying if you said you hadn’t wanted to leave the restaurant with Eren, going back to his place as his girlfriend. Not only had Eren rejected you, your best friend and roommate had crashed the date and you were now being taken home, sad, hungry, not-drunk and boyfriend-less.

“Wait.” You wrested your hand out of Jean’s grip. “Give me a minute.”

Jean watched you walk towards a nearby bottle shop. You couldn’t do anything about being sad and single.

But you could take care of the not-drunk part.


	25. The Best Friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oof -  
> Apologies in advance

“Okay. You know what?” You raised your bottle of wine in the air, as if to toast. “FUCK. EREN.”

Jean chugged on his own bottle, before raising his eyebrow at you. “Do you mean, like, literally, or…?”

“No!” you cried. “Not literally! FIGURATIVELY! BECAUSE HE WON’T LET ME FUCK HIM _LITERALLY!_ FUCK! EREN! YEAGER! FIGURATIVELY!”

“Okay, you need to slow down, [Name],” Jean said. “You’re already half-drunk…”

“I know.” You rolled your eyes. “That’s the whole point! If I have to sleep in my own bed tonight instead of Eren’s, I have to be drunk enough to _not_ notice the difference!” You stabbed him in the chest with your finger. “The question is, why aren’t _you_ drunk yet? You’re in my bed right now, not Mikasa’s!”

He blinked at you, his face turning scarlet. “You know what?” He took a large swig of his own bottle. “You’re right. You are abso- _lutely_ right. I gotta be drunk to…to…” He didn’t finish his sentence, and instead drowned the rest of his bottle of wine.

You cheered for him loudly. Okay, so maybe you were a loud, obnoxious drunk, but who cared? Mikasa wasn’t home and Jean wasn’t going to judge you for it. You chugged the rest of your bottle when the doorbell rang.

“Pizza’s here!” you said happily, waving your empty wine bottle in the air. You tried to stand up on your bed, only to stumble and fall headfirst into a pillow, kicking Jean in the side.

He laughed. Holding your ankles in one hand, he quickly swiped the bottle from your hands and placed it at the foot of the bed. “I’ll get that. You stay here and, uh, be drunk.”

You nodded happily and waited for him to come back. Because, seriously, fuck Eren. Who needed him anyway? You had pizza and wine and Jean. What more could you want?

Speaking of which, Jean still hadn’t explained why he and Mikasa had intercepted your date with Eren nor what had been up with him and Floch at the café, which he still hadn’t apologised for. You blushed as you remembered his words.

_At least I actually care about her and am not just trying to get into her pants like you!_

Fuck. The wine was definitely hitting you. It was making you _very_ horny. You were lucky it was Jean you were with and not some other guy. Anyone else would’ve taken advantage of you in your drunken and horny state.

_What if I want him to take advantage of me?_

You mentally slapped yourself. Ugh. No. You couldn’t. He was Jean. He liked Mikasa. He didn’t like you that way. Also…he was _Jean_. A pain in the ass. Your best friend.

Jean walked back into your room, holding two boxes of pizza in his hands. He smiled at you curled up on one corner of your bed, and you gulped.

Pain in the ass or not, he was a boy and he had pizza. It would take a lot of effort to _not_ jump his bones tonight.

“So,” you said, swallowing a mouthful of pizza. You poked him in the chest again. “Explain.”

“Explain what?” he asked, reaching for another slice, not bothering to get your finger off him.

“Everything!” You poked him again. “You said you’d explain when the food got here, and the. Food. Is. Here!” You punctuated each word with a stab in his chest.

He studied your face thoughtfully, before reaching for the shopping bag on your dresser and retrieving another bottle of wine from it. You watched him unscrew the cap off and take a large swig.

Well. Okay. He was really going at it with the wine there, wasn’t he? Was he so reluctant to explain himself that he needed to be drunk off his ass to do it?

Which annoyed you, because, hey: if anyone was getting sloshed tonight, it had better be you. “Hey, that’s not fair!” you cried. “Don’t you know it’s rude to drink alone?”

He let out a chuckle and passed you the fourth and last bottle of wine. You clinked it against his, before chugging down a good amount of it.

“Okay. Here’s the thing,” he began, and you noticed his speech was slightly slurred. “[Name], I…I love…I…”

“What?” you asked impatiently, taking another bite of pizza. “Spit it out, Jeanny boy. What do you love?”

He swallowed hard. “I…love…pissing Floch off,” he said quickly. “That’s why I crashed his date with you. I’m sorry about that. So sorry.”

“That’s it?” you asked incredulously. “You ruined my study time because of some silly pissing contest between you and your roommate?”

He sighed. “No, that’s not it.” Looking into your eyes, he said, “I was trying to…uh…what’s the word for when you want to, like, save someone from something?”

“Um…protect?” you said.

“That, yes,” he nodded. “I was trying to protect you, [Name]. Floch is a fuckboy. He was going to sleep with you and never call you again.”

“So what?” You couldn’t help your voice from rising a little. “What gives you the authority to decide who sleeps with me and who doesn’t?”

“I…” He looked like he wanted to argue, but he sighed instead. “That’s fair. I realised later that you could’ve handled him by yourself. I just…I get overprotective when it comes to you. I don’t want anyone to hurt you.”

Your heart beat a little faster within your chest.

“Is that why you crashed my date today?” you asked, trying to squash the giddy feeling in your heart and the burning in your loins.

“Uh…” He looked away. “Kinda. See, before we talk about that…there’s something you should know.”

You felt a chill creep up your spine. He was drunk, and so were you, but there was no mistaking the seriousness in his tone. “What?” you asked.

He took your hand, and your heart skipped a beat. There was something special about the way he always took your hand like this that made you feel warm and comforted and loved. There was nothing like it.

“Mikasa…is in love with Eren,” he said quietly. He studied your face, as though expecting you to burst into tears at any second.

But you just stared back at him. “Fuck,” you whispered. “Fuck, Jean, I’m so sorry.”

He blinked at you. “You’re worried about _me?_ ” he asked.

You squeezed his hand. “I…can't imagine how terrible you must’ve felt when you found out,” you whispered.

“No. It doesn’t bother me, actually,” he said, reaching out to pat your head. “Does it bother you?”

You thought about it. Maybe if he’d told you this two days ago, you’d have been upset. But now, you didn’t feel anything.

“It doesn’t,” you said. Your eyes met Jean’s brown ones. “They…have history. I can’t blame her…for falling for her friend.”

He stared at you. Goosebumps pricked all over your skin.

“Me neither,” he whispered.

You held his gaze, unable to take your eyes off his. You found yourself drawing closer to him.

He swallowed hard, before shaking his head and gulping down his wine again. You took a deep breath. You were so glad he had broken that stare, because you didn’t know what you would’ve done if he hadn’t.

After one and a half bottles of wine and an entire pizza, a warm buzz had filled your head and your stomach was satisfied. Jean, however, stood up.

“I see you’re feeling better now,” he said, smirking at you lounging on the side of the bed with one hand over your tummy and the other cradling a half-empty wine bottle. He cleared his throat. “I should leave.”

“What?” you asked incredulously. “Don’t be ridiculous. You’re drunk. You can’t drive.”

There was a rosy glow on his face as he stared at the floor. “I, uh, I could call an Uber, I guess?”

“Or,” you said, before you could stop yourself. You reached forward to grab his hand. “You could always, y’know, stay here.”

A silence filled the room as you and Jean stared at each other.

 _The fuck are you doing?_ the sensible part of you cried. _Are you sure asking him to stay over is a good idea? You’re fucking drunk, [Name]. And so is he._

Shut up, [Name], you argued with yourself. I’m just looking out for him. I don’t want him to go home drunk.

 _Oh, right, of course you’re looking out for him,_ the voice said sarcastically. _You wanting his meat injection has nothing to do with it._

Well, I DO have condoms in my bedside drawer…

_THAT’S NOT THE POINT, [NAME]! YOU – hey, are you even listening to me?_

You tugged on his hand so he was sitting on the bed next to you. “Stay over,” you whispered.

A pained look appeared on his face. “I can’t, [Name],” he said, trying to wring his hand out of your grasp. “If I stay, I might…I…”

You narrowed your eyes at him. “You’ll what?”

He shook his head and glanced at your single bed. “I can’t stay. And even if I did, where would I sleep?”

“I…” You knew where you wanted him to sleep, but, of course, you couldn’t say that. “We’ll figure that out later. For now…SLEEPOVER! YAY!”

He laughed as you drunkenly waved your hands in the air. “Fuck, [Name]. Guess I’m staying then.” He shook his head. “Man. You are so lucky you’re cute and convincing. I swear to the Goddesses, you’ll be the death of me someday.”

You clapped your hands happily, brushing off the urge to jump on him. “So. What do you want to do first?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe watch something?”

“Ooh, Netflix and chill,” you grinned. “I like it.”

“What?” he stammered. You had never seen Jean this flustered, and you almost wept with how cute it was.

“I’m kidding,” you laughed. “Nah, let’s watch anime. You pick.”

“Um, okay,” he said, leaning back against the wall. “Ouran?”

“Ouran?” you repeated. “But you _hate_ harem shows!”

“Yeah, but…” His gaze met yours. “You like that show. And I don’t hate you.”

You tried to stop the heat from spreading across your cheeks. “Ouran it is then,” you said, retrieving your laptop from your bedside table.

He scooted over to one edge of the bed and laid down on his side, resting his head on his hand as you placed the laptop in the middle and let the first episode play. However, within five seconds you were annoyed at being squashed against the wall, forced to lie down uncomfortably on your side. Annoyed, you picked up your laptop and swapped places with it so that it was now next to the wall while your back touched Jean’s front.

“Much better,” you said happily, while Jean gave a small squeak as your behind dug into his thighs.

“Sorry, am I making you uncomfortable?” you asked, turning to him and raising your eyebrow.

Jean’s face was redder than you’d ever seen it before, although you suspected it was largely due to the wine. You saw him reach for something at the foot of the bed. He pulled up his almost-empty wine bottle and took a large sip, before croaking, “Not. At. All.”

You smiled at him and turned your attention back to the show, but not before taking a sip of your own bottle.

As time passed, you began to pay less attention to the movie (movie? Wasn’t it an anime series?) and started paying more attention to Jean. Or rather, how warm his body was behind you, his breath tickling your neck, thighs brushing against yours. He had put down his arm and was resting his head on your pillow instead, hands awkwardly placed at the small of your back.

You turned around, meeting his brown eyes. “Here,” you whispered, positioning his arms so one of them was under you, encircling your waist, while the other was placed on top of your waist, fingers grazing your belly over your tank top. “That better?”

Jean smirked at you. “Yeah,” he whispered, tightening his embrace so he was spooning you. He rested his chin against your shoulder.

You sighed softly to yourself, while your heart pounded against your chest and desire burned between your legs. What wouldn’t you give to be like this with him all the time. Jean’s arms felt like…home. You wriggled in his hold, pressing your body closer to his.

As the show went on, he absently began to stroke the skin below your chest, drawing circles over your shirt. Your heart hammered loudly in your chest. Could he feel it? Did he have any idea how much you wanted him?

You tried your best to pay attention to the show, but you could not stop thinking about Jean and how he was making you feel. And, admittedly, it had been a while since you’d last been with someone – your body was crying with need. You bit your lip. Control yourself, [Name], you tried to tell yourself. You rubbed your thighs together slightly, trying to get rid of the burning sensation between them. You fixed your attention back on your laptop, willing yourself to pay attention.

But how can I pay attention, you thought, when he’s behind me, holding me, being so…so…

 _Behave yourself,_ a stern voice in your head said. _Do you see him being horny?_

I suppose he…isn’t attracted to me, you thought. I mean, I’ve seen the kind of girls he likes. Mikasa is gorgeous. I’m…not.

As you continued to watch the show while totally _not_ watching it, you felt his grip lax around you a couple of times. He was falling asleep.

He confirmed this when he pushed himself up a few moments later to look down at you. “Uh, [Name],” he whispered. “I, uh, the wine is hitting me. Hard. I don’t think I’ll be able to stay up much longer. So, uh, if I fall asleep before you, wake me up and drag my ass to the couch. But, uh, while I’m still awake,” he leaned forward and kissed your forehead.

“Good night,” he whispered, cheeks pink. “I…I…love…uh, I love being here with you like this.”

You smiled sadly at him, the skin on your forehead tingling with his touch. “Good night, Jean,” you whispered. “I liked this, too.” _More than you know._

He smiled at got back into position, curling his arms around you again. And sure enough, within minutes, you heard him snoring softly into your neck.

You shut the lid on your laptop. Trying not to move too much so as to not wake him, you placed it at the edge of your bed and scooted back into his arms.

You studied his face. It might be the wine talking, but you’d never noticed how attractive he was. You often made jokes about him, saying he resembled a horse and had a face only a mother could love, but he wasn’t…bad-looking. And it wasn’t just his face, it was the person underneath you loved more. He was an annoying piece of shit, but he was also warm and funny and kind and he cared about you _so much_. When you were in his arms like this, or when he held your hand, everything felt…right.

Your gaze flicked to his lips and you had the urge to kiss him. You knew it was wrong, but he probably wouldn’t notice, would he? Besides, you would never get another chance like this again.

Leaning forward, you pressed your lips softly against his. How you wished he was awake to kiss you back. Not that he would, since he didn’t like you that way, but it felt good to dream.

Your heart bounced inside your chest, while the burning between your legs got worse. Fuck. Kissing him was a bad idea, because, instead of quelling your desire, it had only increased it further and you had to force yourself not to deepen the kiss.

It was also a bad idea because Jean’s eyes had flown open when your lips touched his.

You pulled away quickly, your breathing shallow. Fuck. This was bad. This was really, really bad. Not only had you kissed someone against their will, that someone was your best friend who didn’t see you that way. FUCK.

“I…” you said, trying to remember how to make your mouth form words. “I’m sorry! I, shit, I didn’t mean to – I just wanted to know what it would feel like. I am so, so sorry, Jean, I shouldn’t have done that without your consent! Please –”

But he silenced you by slamming his lips against yours.

What the fuck? your brain screamed. What the actual FUCK? Jean is kissing me back? After I kissed him? What the fuck is going on here???

Shut up, your burning loins snapped. Just let it happen.

And so, you found yourself kissing your best friend back. He pushed you on your back as his lips pressed into yours hungrily, like he had been wanting to do this for a while. You kissed him back with an equal amount of passion, your fingers gripping his hair and pulling him closer to you.

His tongue roamed your mouth greedily. He gripped your waist hard with one hand, while the other pressed into the pillow next to your head, trying to support his weight.

He suddenly broke the kiss to stare down at you, eyes a mixture of disbelief and longing. “[Name],” he panted. “I have to tell you. You have to know how much I –”

But you didn’t let him finish. Unable to take it anymore, the alcohol and desire took control of your body, smashing your lips into his again.

 _WHAT. THE. ACTUAL. FUCK._ the tiny voice in your head cried. _WHAT IN THE NAME OF ALL THAT IS HOLY ARE YOU DOING? YOU’RE MAKING OUT WITH JEAN. JEAN KIRSTEIN. YOUR BEST FRIEND. THE PERSONIFICATION OF ANNOYING._

By Sheena, he feels SO fucking good though, you thought. And he definitely wants this too. Either that or the phone in his pocket is super bulky.

_[NAME], I SWEAR TO GOD, IF YOU GO ANY FURTHER, YOU WILL ABSOLUTELY REGRET IT TOMORROW._

Sounds like a problem for Future [Name], not me. Now STFU, I’m gonna have sex with my best friend.

Your hands travelled under his shirt, touching the bare skin underneath. Your fingers grazed over his chest and back. Holy hell. He was so warm and wonderful. Where had he been all your life?

_Um. Nowhere. He was always there. You just weren’t willing to think of him as anything more than a friend._

You wanted to feel him. Every inch of him. You quickly brought your hands to his front, unbuttoning his shirt.

“[Name],” he said, breaking the kiss to gawk as you clumsily took off his shirt. “What are you doing?”

You paused. “Do…you not want to?” you asked.

“Fuck, [Name],” he whispered. “How could you even…of course I do. So fucking much.”

“Then shut up,” you hissed, tugging at your tank top. “And help me take this off.”

He smirked. “With pleasure,” he replied.

Remember how you had said that there was nothing as good as holding Jean’s hand and cuddling with him?

Well, after tonight, you could name at least ten different things that were equally as good. Four of them involved his tongue, two involved his hands and the others involved, uh, another part of his body.

By the end of it, you had only one word on your mind.

_WOW._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for ending it that way, but I really can't write smut to save my life lmaooo


	26. The Confession

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel really bad for doing this after the previous chapter. I'm so sorry 🥺

You tried to open your eyes, but it felt like they were glued shut.

Huh? That was strange. You could not recall applying Super Glue to your eyelids last night. Then again, you could not recall much from last night. It must’ve been one hell of a night though, because you were pretty sure you were hungover. Your head was pounding and your mouth was dry while an uneasiness bubbled in your stomach.

Then you remembered: you had gone on a date with Eren Yeager yesterday. It must’ve been either terribly good or terribly bad for you to wake up like this. You hoped it was the former.

You twitched uncomfortably as your comforter tickled your bare skin. You clumsily tried to pull it off when you wondered: why was your skin bare? Oh, that’s right. You were naked.

Wait a minute. Why were you naked???

Your eyes slowly travelled down your body. There was a pair of arms around your middle, spooning you, while a hand grasped your right breast.

A large, lanky hand that was _definitely_ not Eren’s.

Dread crept over you and the pounding in your head got worse. You slowly rolled over…

…and found yourself face-to-face with Jean. A very _naked_ Jean.

You bit your tongue to stop yourself from screaming. Jean was still asleep: his mouth was open and he was drooling on your pillow. One of his legs was between yours. You felt something hard poke into your thigh, and you had to stop yourself from hyperventilating.

As you stared at him in shock, he shuffled in his sleep, his grip around you tightening.

“[Name]…” he mumbled, pressing his nose to your hair.

Your heart hammered against your chest. Was he awake?

“Yes?” you whispered hesitantly.

“Mmmph,” he said, pulling you closer towards him, hand back on your breast. He was sound asleep.

Then why did he say your name? Was that something he did often? You –

The memories of last night suddenly hit you. Your mouth flew open in horror.

Eren rejecting you. Jean taking you home. Two bottles of wine. An entire pizza. Ouran High School Host Club. Jean cuddling with you. You kissing him. Him taking off your clothes. Him slamming you against the bed as he…

Fuck. This was bad. This was really, really bad.

You quickly slapped his hand off your breast, causing him to wake up with a start. You watched him groan and rub his eyes, trying to gain his bearings.

“Fuck,” he whispered, cradling his head. He then noticed you and his eyes widened. “FUCK.”

“‘Fuck’ is right,” you mumbled, shifting to the other side of the bed. Your face heated with shame, and you covered it with your comforter. You peeked out of your sheets at him. He was staring at you in shock.

Then something strange happened. Jean’s face broke out into a big smile. “Fuck,” he whispered again. “I can’t believe this!”

“Me neither,” you muttered. You eyed the pillow below his head. How the fuck had the two of you slept on one pillow all night without being uncomfortable? You wondered if you could snatch it from under him and use it to cover your face.

“I’m…I’m so happy,” he whispered, his eyes still on you. His face drew nearer. “I honestly didn’t picture it going like this, but I’m not complaining.” He leaned forward to press his lips against yours.

Wait. What? Alarm bells began ringing in your head. What the fuck?

You quickly brought up your hand in front of your mouth, causing him to place a confused kiss on your palm instead. “Huh?” he asked.

“Um,” you said. “Jean. What are you doing?”

He blinked at you. “I’m…kissing you?” he said uncertainly.

“No?” you said. “You can’t do that!”

He stared at you incredulously, before rolling his eyes. “Really?” he said. “After everything we did last night, _that’s_ where you draw the line? Kissing?”

“No!” you cried. “That’s not why! You can’t just…wake up and _kiss_ me! What do you think we are, a couple?”

He pursed his lips. “[Name], we woke up naked in the same bed. You tell me. What does it make us?”

There was a silence as your face burned and your body tingled with embarrassment. “We’re friends,” you finally said through gritted teeth. “Friends who got drunk and made a mistake last night. That’s all.”

His face fell and your heart throbbed with guilt. “Really?” he whispered. “That’s what you think last night was? A mistake?”

“Don’t you agree?” you said defensively. “That’s all it was. A drunken mistake. But, if we play our cards right, we can get past it. We won’t mention this to Marco – or anyone else, for that matter. We’ll forget it ever happened –”

Jean sat up. You noticed large crimson bruises between his neck and shoulder, as well as long red scratch marks on his sides. Your shame doubled.

“No,” he said.

You frowned. “What do you mean, no?” you asked, sitting up too.

“I’m not going to get past this, [Name],” he said, his brown eyes boring into yours. “And I don’t want to forget about it. I – fuck, I left home yesterday evening, all sad and shit, thinking I was going on a date with Mikasa while you were hooking up with Whatshisface. And now I wake up next to you. Last night was the best night of my life. Period. We had some mind-blowing sex – admit it, [Name], you liked it too. I just…” He shook his head again. “What I’m trying to say is, you can’t ask me to forget that I was…with the girl I love. With you. Intimately.”

There was another long silence as the gears in your head stopped whirring.

“[Name]?” he said tentatively, when you did not move for a whole minute. He gripped your arm, and your skin tingled. “[Name]? Are you okay?” He shook you lightly.

“Fuck,” he whispered. “I think I broke her.”

You finally came back to your senses and took a deep breath. “What did you mean by that?” you asked slowly.

He shot you a look. “You know damn well what I meant by that. I’m in love with you, [Name]. I’ve been in love with you for a while now. You’re my best friend, the most important person in my life and the most beautiful girl I know. You get me in a way no one does. You look out for me and put up with my shit and I…I care about you. So damn much. At first, I wasn’t sure why I didn’t like the Yeager Bastard. I thought he was wrong for you. That he didn’t deserve you. And when the Floch thing happened, I…lost control. I wanted to murder them both. But now I know. It’s not them, it’s me. I would rather see you with me than with any of those pricks. I love you so fucking much, [Name]. Do you understand now why I can’t forget about last night? Why I _won’t_ forget about last night?”

Somewhere, during that speech, you had stopped breathing. Goosebumps appeared all over your body. You dropped the sheet covering your front in shock, only to pick it up and cover your breasts again.

Jean…was in love with you? And had been for a while? He was jealous of Eren and Floch?

But…why hadn’t he mentioned this before? Didn’t he like Mikasa? Why hadn’t he brought this up when the two of you had made up that crazy plan of hooking each other up? How come he was suddenly in love with you AFTER sleeping with you?

“I…don’t know what to say,” you said finally. “I just…I can’t help wondering…why now? Why are you suddenly in love with me now? Why didn’t you say anything before? You liked Mikasa all this time…”

He took a deep breath.

“I don’t have an answer for you, [Name],” he said. “I don’t know when exactly it happened. I haven’t thought too much about it. I understood what I was feeling only recently and yeah, I do regret being a pussy and not saying anything before. But if it wasn’t clear to you yet – I do not have any feelings for Mikasa anymore. I was infatuated with her for a bit, but it was never anything more than physical attraction. [Name], the one time I hung out with her, I spoke to _you_ the whole time. What do you think?”

You did not respond to that. You stared at the floor blankly, your hands still clutching the sheet covering your front. There were empty pizza boxes on the floor, bottles of wine and…a used condom wrapper. You were suddenly filled with embarrassment all over again.

“I…I’m sorry, [Name],” he said softly. “I know this is all too much to take in right now…but I had to say it. And I have to ask.” He reached out to take your hand, but you jerked away before he could touch you.

Your stomach twisted with guilt as his eyes filled with hurt.

“I didn’t think you did before,” he continued. “But, after last night, I can’t help wondering…hoping…even, if, just a little…I have to know.” His gaze was fixed on you, his eyes beseeching. “Do you…do you feel that way about me? Do you feel anything for me? Even if it’s a little…I can…I…” The rest of his words died in his throat.

You forced yourself to tear away from his gaze. You thought of Marco, Sasha and Connie, all eager to know how your date with Eren had gone. Your eyes landed on the condom wrapper again. Every inch of your body burned with embarrassment and turmoil.

Your eyes began to water. You needed to be alone right now.

“I…I think you should leave,” you whispered, not looking at him.

Because you were looking away, you didn’t see the hurt and rejection in his eyes. “Okay,” he whispered. “I get it. It was stupid of me to think…” He shook his head and got out of bed.

Gathering his clothes from the floor, he said, “I’ll give you what you want. I’ll leave you alone. If…if you’re okay with it, I’d like to…keep being friends, at least. I can’t promise you it won’t be weird, but I’ll try my best not to let it be.”

He quickly put on his clothes while you stared vacantly at the floor. Tears pricked your eyes.

When he was dressed, he leaned forward to cup your cheek. “I’ll leave, [Name]. And I won’t bring up my feelings again. Just know that…just because I won’t speak about it, doesn’t mean they’re gone. I’ll still love you. Even if you decide not to speak to me anymore and be with someone else, I will still care about you.” He placed a soft kiss on your forehead.

Giving you one last sad look, he made his way out of the door.

As soon as he was gone, you crumbled on your bed and began to cry.


	27. The Wingperson

You stared at your phone screen in horror.

“No,” you whispered. “No no no no…”

Furious, you began typing. “IT’S NOT ME YOU DUMBASSES! I FINISHED MY TASKS! IT’S RED! RED WAS –”

A knock sounded on your door, interrupting your tirade.

“NOT NOW, MIKASA! I’M BUSY!” you yelled, before resuming your rant.

“RED IS THE IMPOSTOR! THEY WERE SUS FROM THE BEGINNING! WHY DON’T YOU GUYS BELIEVE ME UGH!”

Fortunately, you were saved from the misery of watching your character get voted off as Marco entered the room.

He glanced at you screaming at your phone and raised an eyebrow. “[Name],” he said. “What are you doing?”

You glanced up at him and rolled your eyes. “Wow, come in, Marco, make yourself comfortable,” you said sarcastically. “And what does it look like I’m doing? Having a tea party?”

You threw your phone at your bed angrily. Marco’s eyes skimmed to the screen, where your character was floating in space after being ejected.

“Quite busy indeed,” he murmured. He saw you pick up your phone and join a new game.

When you ignored him and went on playing, he sighed and again said. “[Name]. What are you doing?”

“I told you,” you said irritably, watching as your character was being chased. “I’m –”

“No,” he said. “I mean, what _are_ you doing? You haven’t answered any of my calls or texts all day, and Sasha said you were ignoring hers too. Mikasa said you’ve been holed up in your room all day.”

“What are they getting so prissy about?” you grumbled, watching in dismay as your character’s neck was snapped. “I’ve just been playing for a couple of hours. Three, tops. No big deal.”

Marco gave you a look. “[Name], what time do you think it is?”

“I don’t know, like three in the afternoon? Four, maybe?” You shrugged. “Why?”

He stared at you. “It’s eight-thirty in the evening,” he said. “Look outside.”

You followed his gaze out of the window, and, sure enough, the sky was dark and the streetlights had been turned on.

You glanced sadly at your phone, where your ghost spectated as another character was being killed off. “I…might’ve lost track of time playing,” you mumbled.

“Yeah, no kidding,” he said. His gaze softened. “Do you think staying inside your room all day, playing games and avoiding everyone is going to keep you from thinking about him?”

You looked away. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you mumbled.

He rolled his eyes. “Stop playing dumb, [Name]. I spoke to him earlier. He told me everything.”

A lump appeared in your throat as your stomach did backflips. Your heart sobbed with guilt. “Was he upset?” you asked quietly.

Marco looked pained. “Not to make you feel guilty or anything, but…upset is a _bit_ of an understatement. You broke his heart, [Name].”

Your heart continued to weep as real tears pricked your eyes. “Me? I’m not the one who decided I was randomly in love with him after a one-night stand and after spending over two months chasing someone else! That was _very_ sus!”

He eyed your phone warily. “I think you’ve been playing that game far too much lately,” he murmured. “And why do you think it was random? Do you have any idea how hard it’s been for him to confess to you? You know what a big coward he is, [Name]. In fact, I’m surprised he managed to spit it out, he had been so afraid to tell you before.”

You blinked back tears and looked up at him. “Did you know he had feelings for me, then?” you asked.

He sighed. “Of course I did. I'm the one who encouraged him to tell you, after all. We spoke about this a couple of days ago, and I helped him understand that what he was feeling for you was way more than ‘friendship’. So, you see, his feelings aren’t as random as you think they are.”

Your vision got blurry with the tears in your eyes. You tried your hardest to blink them away, as you didn’t want Marco to see you cry.

“I’m going to tell you the same thing I told him,” he continued. “It was so painfully obvious to me and to anyone else with eyes, really, that he was in love with you and that you felt something for him, too. I don’t get why you two are wasting time denying it when you could, you know, actually be together.”

You sniffed. “I don’t –”

“Don’t give me that,” he said tiredly. “You’re not going to get anything out of lying to me, much less yourself. I’m fairly certain you love him too. Now, are you going to admit it and fix things, or are you going to keep pretending like nothing’s going on and let both him and you be miserable?”

You thought of the sad look he had given you before leaving that morning. Before you knew it, the tears were spilling out of your eyes and you were crying uncontrollably into your hands.

“I’m…so confused,” you wailed, while Marco patted your back comfortingly. “I really liked Eren…and…and…Jean was supposed to be helping me. And I tried my best to set him up with Mikasa, I really did, but…every time I spoke to her about it, I felt so…so…” You sobbed harder as Marco pulled you into a hug.

“I wanted him to be happy,” you wept. “I…tried to get them to go on a date…even though it hurt so much to think of them together. And…last night…I realised I didn’t want to be with Eren. He’s…not what I’m looking for. Jean, on the other hand…he’s... he’s…always been there for me…like, no offence to you, you’re a great friend, but…Jean is…”

“None taken,” he smiled at you, arm around your shoulders. “I know how special he is to you.”

You sniffed and nodded, wiping the tears from your cheeks. “I don’t know what I feel,” you sobbed. “Last night, I…even though we were drunk, I realised…I was actually attracted to him. Like, very attracted. And I’m confused because…he’s Jean. He…the three of us…are best friends. I’m not supposed to be attracted to him. I’m not supposed to want to make out with him and hold his hand all the time. But I can’t stop thinking about him that way…”

He smiled softly at you. “Do you still not believe that you love him?”

You sobbed even harder at that. “Fuck, Marco. You’re right. I…I love him. I do, I really do.” You sniffed loudly and looked up at him, your eyes red. “How badly did I fuck up?”

Marco gazed at you, a wan smile on his face. “I’ll tell you this. Do you know why Jean was reluctant to tell you about his feelings before?”

You shook your head, wiping your tears with the back of your hand.

“He was afraid,” he explained. “He was so afraid that if he told you the truth, he would lose your friendship – he would lose you forever. And guess what ended up happening when he did?”

You reached for a hand towel nearby and blew your nose loudly. “God, Marco,” you said. “I…it’ll take a lot to make it up to him…”

He put his arm around your shoulders, giving you a small hug. “Don’t sweat it, [Name],” he said. “You were hungover, confused and embarrassed. You needed time to process everything. I get that – I’m sure Jean will too. Eventually. Maybe, for now, just show him you’re still his friend? That, no matter what, you’ll always be there for him?”

You nodded. “I can do that,” you whispered. You were feeling better already. “His exhibition…”

“That’s tomorrow morning, yeah,” he confirmed. “That big exhibition he was going on about before. I’ll be going, but you should come too. He’ll feel a lot better if he sees you there.”

You paused. “I…want to,” you said. “I want to be there for him. But if I see his portrait of Mikasa, I might…I’ll feel…”

He gave you a stern look, and you groaned.

“You’re right,” you said. “You’re absolutely right. I have to go and cheer him on. Irrespective of who his muse is…how pretty she is…how…” You tried to stop the tears from coming back, before you shook your head. “No. I’ll be there. I’ll support him. I don’t care how beautiful she looks in that portrait or how I’ll never look like her – I will be there.”

Marco finally gave you his big, trademark Marco Bodt smile.

“Good luck, [Name],” he said. “As I told Jean, I’m rooting for you two. I hope you get together.”


	28. The Muse

You stood outside the glass doors of the Titan University Art Gallery, staring at your reflection. Your heart pounded rapidly within your chest and your knees trembled. You swallowed hard.

“Fuck,” you whispered to Marco, who was standing beside you with one eyebrow raised. “I can’t do this. I can’t just waltz in there, tell him how I feel and expect him to understand. I can’t do it, Marco.”

“Yes, you can,” he said firmly, placing his hands on your shoulders. “Jean loves you, [Name]. He told you himself, didn’t he? He wants to be with you. And you feel the same way.”

“But…” you said. “His muse…Mikasa…how am I supposed to go in there and look at his portrait of her without losing it?”

“[Name],” Marco said sternly. “We discussed this…”

“I know, I know,” you sighed. “I gotta be his friend and support him no matter who his muse is, yadda yadda yadda. But what if he’s still mad at me for asking him to leave? What if he doesn’t care about me anymore? What if –”

“ _[Name]…_ ” Marco said again. He gave you a look.

“I can’t,” you mumbled. “I can’t face him again…after what happened yesterday…I can’t bear the thought of him not…”

He gave you a look. “[Name], what was the last thing he said before he left yesterday?”

“Um,” you began, your face flushing with embarrassment as you remembered the events of the previous day.

_I won’t bring up my feelings again. Just know that…just because I won’t speak about it, doesn’t mean they’re gone. I’ll still love you. Even if you decide not to speak to me anymore and be with someone else, I will still care about you._

“Oh,” you said softly, your heart beating faster.

“Yeah,” he said. “Now can we go in, or…”

You nodded at him. “Let’s go.”

The Titan Art Gallery was small, consisting of two rooms only. There were a lot of people milling about, looking at the artworks on display. You recognised one of Jean’s professors to your left, talking to a group of people, and a few people from his class standing before their portraits, explaining them to onlookers. But where was he?

“There,” you heard Marco say. You followed his gaze to see Jean’s back up ahead. At the angle he was standing at, you couldn’t see his artwork, but you could see him speaking to a man.

Your heart immediately began to race even faster (was that physically possible? Wasn’t that a symptom of a heart attack?) as butterflies danced in your stomach. Yet, despite everything, you were unable to stop the smile from creeping up on your face.

You turned to find Marco watching you, smirking slightly. Your face heated up.

“What?” you said.

He shook his head. “Nothing,” he said, the smirk still on his face. “Let’s go.”

You followed Marco as he walked on, trying to keep yourself hidden behind him. You didn’t know why you were so nervous. Jean loved you, didn’t he? He said so himself. He wouldn’t stop loving you just because of what had happened yesterday.

“She’s beautiful,” you heard a voice say. You peeked up from behind Marco to see the man still talking to Jean, studying his portrait.

Your heart immediately sank. Everyone who saw Mikasa immediately thought she was beautiful. How could you compete with someone like that?

“She is, isn’t she?” Jean said. You did not miss the pride in his voice. “She’s the most beautiful girl I know. She’s my _muse_ , after all.”

Tears pricked your eyes. You had been walking behind Marco, but you did a 180 and marched back in the direction you came from.

“Nope,” you said. “Not doing it. Abort mission. ABORT MISSION!”

Marco caught hold of the back of your jacket as you walked away. You struggled in his grip, trying to get him off you.

“Let me go,” you said through clenched teeth. “You heard what he said, Marco. Mikasa –”

“Stop it, [Name],” he said, annoyed. You turned around to find him rolling his eyes. Without letting go of your jacket, he pushed you back towards Jean.

“What are you doing?” you yelped. “I can’t look at that portrait, Marco. I’ll –”

“Shut up,” he muttered, positioning you behind Jean, who still had no idea what was going on behind his back. “You’ll thank me for this someday.”

You gulped and went back to hiding behind Marco as the man spoke to Jean.

“–good, but yours stood out to me,” he was saying. “It just feels so…personal. I can tell you’ve really put your heart into this one.”

“Yeah, well, it’s easy to draw when you’re in love with the subject, I suppose,” Jean muttered.

Tears pricked your eyes. You felt Marco place a firm grip on your hand to prevent you from walking away again.

The man nodded. “Is she your girlfriend?” he asked.

Jean sighed. “She’s not,” he said softly. “She…I don’t know if we’re friends. She doesn’t like me that way…”

The man shook his head sympathetically. “Well,” he said, “I hope you tell her how you feel someday. She’s a beautiful girl.”

You didn’t notice Marco step away from you, leaving you exposed to the man and Jean. The blond man’s eyes flitted over to you. He raised his bushy eyebrows and smiled.

“She’s even prettier in person,” he said.

Jean didn’t notice the man’s gaze shift. His eyes were on his drawing. “I _have_ told her how I feel,” he muttered. “And she asked me to leave. She clearly doesn’t feel the same way –”

“She does,” you interrupted, stepping forward so you were standing between Jean and the man. “She’s in love with you, too.”

Jean’s jaw dropped as he saw you, while Marco and the man broke out into huge grins. “[Name]…” he whispered.

You finally saw Jean’s portrait, which had been hidden from your view before. Your cheeks immediately burned as you recognised yourself eating a cup of gelato, laughing as melted cream dripped from your chin onto your shirt.

_“Why haven’t you deleted that yet?” you cried._

_“Are you kidding me?” he said. “Why would I delete it? It’s my favourite picture of you. You’re so fucking cute in this, [Name].”_

It was safe to say that, even back then, you were a blind, oblivious fuckhead. Maybe as much as Eren, if not more.

As much as the photo embarrassed you, it has still been a good photo. But Jean’s drawing somehow looked even better. He had highlighted your eyes, making them sparkle and had made your skin glow.

Your eyes filled with tears all over again. How could you have been so blind? He loved you with all of his heart and it showed in the way he drew you.

If you had been confused about your feelings before, looking at that portrait, there was no doubt in your mind.

You gulped and inched closer towards Jean. “She loves you too,” you whispered. “And she’s sorry she asked you to leave yesterday instead of telling you how she felt.”

His eyes widened. “[Name],” he said again, taking a step closer to you.

“It’s true,” you continued, reaching forward to take his hand. “I’m…in love with you, Jean. It’s always been you. Eren and I were never really compatible – because I had already found the right person for me. That night…was the best night of my life, too. And it scared me how much I liked it – how much I liked _you_ – because you were supposed to be my best friend and I wasn’t supposed to feel that way about you. I needed time to think…” You glanced at Marco, a smile on your face. “And I needed to talk to someone to understand what I was feeling. But I’m sure now. I feel it…in my heart…you’re the one. So…yeah. I’d really like to give this a shot. If you still want me.”

He gazed at you, his expression a mixture of tenderness and wonder. Your heart soared as you noticed tiny tears prick the corners of his eyes. He pressed his forehead against yours while his other hand grasped your free hand, squeezing hard.

“Took you long enough,” he smirked.

You breathed in his scent and his warmth enveloped you. Your heart danced in your chest while your stomach did somersaults.

“You’re lucky I came at all, you idiot,” you whispered. “Do you know how hard it was to bring myself to come here? I almost walked away. _Twice.”_

His nose brushed against yours. “Not my fault you’re so oblivious,” he replied.

“Well, how was I supposed to know I was your muse?” you complained. “You always spoke about Mikasa and how you were going to draw her…”

“You’re a dumbfuck,” he said playfully. He let go of your hands to wrap his arms around your waist and pull you closer to him. “I literally confessed my love to you, [Name]. I gave you an epic speech and everything. How could you still think I was going to draw her after all that?”

Your hands pressed against his chest. You could feel his heart beating underneath, matching your pace. His nose nuzzled yours.

“Shut up, Jean,” you hissed, a wide smile on your face and tears in your eyes. “This ‘dumbfuck’ is now your girlfriend, so be nice, okay?”

He grinned at you. “That she is,” he whispered.

“JUST KISS ALREADY!” someone yelled from behind you. Before you could turn around and see who it was, Jean pressed his lips against yours.

“For the record,” he whispered as he pulled apart a minute later. “This dumbfuck means the world to me, and I’m in love with her. Just thought I’d make that clear.”

“And she loves you too,” you whispered, pecking him softly on the lips. “You’re a pain in the ass, but you’re her best friend _and_ boyfriend. And she wouldn’t have it any other way.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading and supporting this story till the end! I have a short epilogue after this (an epilogue that no one asked for and probably wasn't needed, but I couldn't resist), so I will say more there.


	29. The Epilogue

“…and that’s the story of how your dad accidentally groped your mum and tried to set her up with another guy,” Sasha finished triumphantly. “AKA the story of how your parents got together.” She smiled at the two children. “Any questions?”

The little boy immediately raised his hand. “I have one,” he said. “What’s ‘grope’?”

“Uhhh…” Sasha shot a glance at Connie, who looked away, snorting with laughter. “Uncle Connie will explain that to you. Later.”

The boy shot his hand up again. “What’s a dumbfu–”

“Ahhhhh…” she sang loudly, trying to drown out the boy’s voice so his parents wouldn’t be able to hear him. She shot a glance at you and Jean, who were busy setting the table for dinner and shooting Sasha and Connie disapproving looks. “Uncle Connie will tell you that too. Later. When your Mum and Dad aren’t around.”

“Well, _I_ have a question,” the girl said. She shot you an incredulous look. “You’re telling me that Uncle Eren could’ve been our dad? Eren _Freaking_ Yeager? The guy who plays on the national soccer team and is an actual _celebrity?_ And we ended up with this loser?”

“Hey!” Jean cried indignantly. “Watch your mouth, young lady.”

“Funnily enough, your mum used to think like that back in the day,” Connie laughed.

“Were…were we listening to the same story?” her little brother said. “Uncle Eren didn’t like mum. Mum didn’t love Uncle Eren. Aunt Mikasa loved him. Mum loves dad. And I like Daddy. He’s funny.”

“That’s a good way to sum it up,” Marco nodded. “Well, at least now you kids know the story behind that portrait of your mum eating ice-cream in your parents’ room. And all the other portraits of your mum around the house.”

While everyone's eyes immediately travelled to the various artworks of you around the living room, you shot a glance at your husband and smiled. He smiled back, and butterflies danced in your stomach.

It was amazing how, even after being married for so long, every time Jean looked at you, you felt like a college student in that art gallery all over again.

“I mean…” you heard your daughter say, causing both of you to snap out of it and look at her. She shrugged. “Dad does make some good art; I’ll give him that.”

“ _Thank you,_ ” Jean said, giving her a pointed look. “Now, come on, everyone. Let’s eat.”

As your friends and family helped themselves to dinner, you glanced at Marco. “You know,” you said slowly. “I never got to thank you. For everything you’ve done for us. For talking to Jean and me about our feelings..."

"And for convincing this dumb– uh, for convincing [Name] and me to confess to each other," Jean continued. "If it wasn't for you..."

"...we wouldn't be here today," you finished. You raised your glass. “To Uncle Marco. The real wingperson.”

“To Uncle Marco,” everyone chorused, clinking their glasses together.

Marco laughed. “I did say you’d thank me someday,” he said. “But, yeah, it's been my pleasure. It all worked out in the end, didn't it?”

Your hand found Jean’s under the table. You caught your children's eyes and smiled. “And, for the record, I’m very happy with your father,” you said, your eyes lighting up as they met his. “I think we both made the right choices.”

You leaned forward to kiss your best friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for supporting this story! I honestly never expected people to like this as much as you did, so seeing it receive so much love has warmed my heart. I can't express how much I appreciate each and every one of you for reading, leaving kudos and commenting – especially those who constantly commented to give feedback!
> 
> I 🧡 you all!
> 
> P.S. Eren and Mikasa aren't in this chapter cause I wanted you, the Reader, to decide if they got together or not 😊


End file.
